


Valor of the Suns

by Walker98



Category: Babylon 5
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-05-21 03:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6036109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Walker98/pseuds/Walker98
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As President Clark tightens his grip on the Earth Alliance worlds, a group of Earthforce officers will rebel and steal a top-secret ship. Barely understanding the ship and it's capabilities the unlikely crew will soon be caught up in events and forces that could destroy the entire galaxy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Possession Is Nine-tenths Of The Law

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story idea that's been bouncing around in the back of my head for awhile. I deiced to write it out and see how it goes. It will largely take place parallel to the events going on in season 3 and 4 of Babylon 5. Mostly original characters, but we will be having run-ins with the B5 folks here and there. Please read, review, and enjoy. Oh yeah, Babylon 5 belongs J. Michael Straczynski

 

**April 20th, 2260 08:20**

**Earthforce secret research base on Nereid.**

* * *

"Captain Shane? General Taggart will be with you shortly."

Captain Edward Shane turned from the porthole to face the young sergeant. He noticed right away her Earthforce uniform was in disarray. It was wrinkled and dirty, a purplish stain of something covered her jacket's sleeve. Almost unconsciously he ran his hand on his own uniform. His clothes were pristine, neatly pressed and clean. His hand rested on his Nightwatch black armband. He made sure it was straight and proper on his arm.

Shane made a point of wrinkling his nose at her untidy military uniform. A glance at her identification tag right below the Earthforce emblem named her as A. Wilson. A blush of humiliation rose on Sergeant Wilson's face as she saw his disapproval.

"I'm sorry, sir," she said while her eyes were cast down. "I just came from working in the environmental processor. I…uhh…didn't realize I had gotten so dirty."

At least Wilson had the good graces to be embarrassed by her appearance, considered Shane. When he took command, he would make sure everyone here understood they were professionals and needed to dress accordingly.

"Sergeant Wilson, I thought you were the acting yeoman for the _Valiant_. What are you doing working on the environmental controls?" inquired Shane as he mentally placed her name on the list of personal for the top-secret ship.

"I am, sir" she answered quickly. "But we're all working around the clock to get the _Valiant_ operational. And well, the environmental systems for the _Valiant_ are…umm…a bit unusual."

Shane let his head nod slowly. "I have familiarized myself with ship's background." He craned his neck, looking past Wilson trying to see what was behind her. It was a futile effort to see the craft beyond the circular black transport tube connecting the military base to its most prized possession. "I do look forward to seeing her."

With more than a little touch of pride in her voice, Wilson answered. "Yes sir, there is nothing like her out there. Every race, hell even the Vorlons, will be envious."

There was a long pause after her devoted reverence for her ship which quickly grew into an awkward silence. Shane made a point of a casual dismissal of Sergeant Wilson by turning back to the docking hub's large single porthole. Outside the wide blue disk of Neptune hung unmoving in the sky.

Behind him, Wilson cleared her throat and said, "Sir, I'll just check with the General. See what's keeping him."

"Yes," replied Shane faintly, "please do."

When she left and Shane certain he was alone he touched his hand link. A beep followed and he spoke into the device. "Lieutenant Monroe."

A brief pause and then the clipped tone of Lieutenant Jessica Monroe on board the EAS _Aegean_ answered, "Yes, sir?"

"Lieutenant," said Shane smoothly, "I want this little transition of command to go without incident."

"My men and I are ready," replied the Lieutenant. "Just say the word."

Shane's smile widened. "Excellent, take your men and enter the station. Assume control… _quietly_."

"Right away, sir."

Shane had just cut his link when General Robert Taggart pulled himself into the docking hub. Tall and lean with a head of graying hair, the General had the body of an athletic runner even though he was over sixty. In the microgravity of Neptune's moon, he maneuvered effortlessly, using the transport tube's hand and feet holds to bring him to a gentle rest before Shane.

"Captain Edward Shane," said Taggart with a quick salute. A smile and an extended hand swiftly followed, "a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Sir," replied Shane as he returned the salute and then took the General's offered hand. He noticed the man's uniform was spotless. Except for the lack of the Nightwatch band on the General's dress jacket, he was dressed just like Shane. His uniform was a point in the Taggart's favor thought Shane, too bad the man had shunned Nightwatch and all the opportunities the organization could provide.

"So you want to take a look at the _Valiant_ ," said the General gamely. "You must be liked by someone back in Earthdome." Taggart's eye sized Shane up quickly. "Not something most captains would be able to do," he added.

"Well General Taggart," replied Shane a little stiffly. "You may have been busy out here in the waste end of the solar system and not have noticed, but since the attack on Ganymede, we are under martial law."

"I _am_ busy," intoned Taggart a little sharply. "However nor am I blind or deaf. Half the galaxy is in freefall chaos."

"Then you can understand why I'm here," defended Shane, a little put out by the man's tone. "With everything going on, the political climate is very delicate. President Clarke wants to ensure all of Earth's forces are…on the same page."

A sigh welled up from Taggart. "I've worked rather hard to stay out of Earthdome's dogmatic machine. So I don't care much for your political climate." With a wave of his hand, he indicated the Nereid military base. "This station is hardly a civilian operation and the order for martial law has no bearing here. Nor is anyone here who hasn't been through a very rigorous background check. There are no spies or saboteurs here."

Shane saw the man's confusion. The General believed his capacity to operate and command one of Earthforce's secretive compounds was being called into question. It was an easy mistake to make. But Edward Shane was not here for the man's ability, he was here for the man's loyalty.

Bowing his head, Shane crooned, "I understand General Taggart. I didn't mean to call into question the work you're doing here. We all know you've done outstanding work. All of us back in Earthdome are keen to see the _Valiant_ operational."

Taggart's face relaxed. It was subtle movement but Shane was fast enough to catch the minuet change. It was always best to play to someone's ego. Shane knew General Taggart had lived and breathed his current assignment for the better part of last three years. The man had invested himself entirely in the salvaging and retrofit of the alien ship.

"Hmm…" hummed Taggart to himself. A tiny grin forced its way onto his face. "Well if you've come all this way, best to show you what the taxpayers have spent the better part of three billion credits on."

"Of course, General," replied Shane with a slick smile of his own.

In the almost nonexistent gravity of the base, Taggart spun one hundred and eighty degrees with a simple twist of his body. Then with just the smallest of kicks with one foot he launched back down the interconnecting tube. The man's speed surprised Shane and he found himself having to rush after him down the passageway.

"I can tell you've never severed on a Hyperion-class cruiser," said Taggart over his shoulder as the man nimbly manipulated the handholds along the accordion-like tube connecting to the _Valiant_. Shane struggled to keep up without careening into either side of the plastic walls.

"I severed on board the _Furies_ for a time," answered Shane as he worked to right himself. The Omega class destroyer with its spinning crew section had provided near Earth normal gravity. He had never been any good at low g environments. It seemed every time he moved he caused the plastic conduit they were in to bounce about.

Taggart reached out and steadied Shane. "Like this," the older man instructed. He helped Shane loop his foot through a narrow ring on the floor. The foothold helped stabilize him and then reaching up he could pull himself along on the same handholds Taggart was using.

"I practically grew up on those Hyperion and old Nova class ships," reminisced the General. "If we weren't under thrust, we had to do everything in zero-g."

"It must be a relief then to work in the _Valiant_ ," broached Shane, still a little embarrassed by his clumsy earlier performance.

Taggart was quiet for a moment and then said, "It does, after a fashion."

The connecting tunnel opened up and at first Shane thought he was at the ship's air lock. But instead, he found himself in a large plastic bubble. It bridged two of the long snake-like tubes connecting to the vessel. Unlike the dark connecting tube they had just transverse this plastic was clear. It offered an unrestricted view of the massive cargo hold that held the _Valiant_.

Shane gasped as he took in the sheer size. The bay was nearly two thousand meters across and more than double the length. The distant walls were dark gray of carved out rock. A hollowed out section of Neptune's moon hid one of Earthforce's most closely guarded secrets. And there it was, the EAS _Valiant_ , nestled like a precious stone wrapped carefully and protectively in the center of this enormous man-made cave.

"It's quite the sight, isn't?" said the General softly to Shane's side.

"It is indeed," breathed Shane. He was awestruck as he gazed out at the ship. He had seen photographs, video, and schematics of the ship. But none of them did it justice. Scaffolding wrapped around the ship and dozens of flexible conduits like the one they were in ran from the base into the vessel. The ship itself was lit up by hundreds of lights throughout the bay and making its dark blue surface almost…glow. Light reflected and refracted off its crystal-like hull.

Hull…Shane wasn't even sure that was the right word for the ship. Perhaps skin? Or shell? Long and sharp points defined the craft. He had heard some of the upper brass call it the crystal knife. Now seeing up close, Shane had to agree. It was a long jagged knife of a ship, from the point at the bow it arched gracefully back. The middle of the ship, the spine of the knife, rose up in a gentle curve until it reached near the end of the ship. There, in what would be the hilt of a blade, long arching spines grew out at odd angles around what Shane knew was the vessel's engines. A knife nearly three thousand meters long.

Tetragonal and hexagonal shapes were everywhere on the ship. From small little nodes on the edges to the massive spires at the rear. Almost all of the various crystalline structures were of either dark blue or deep sea green. But one of the spires caught his eye, near dead center of the beam of the craft, was hued a dark crimson red.

"It's a cannon," explained Taggart as he saw Shane's observation of the long ruby-colored spike at the center of the ship.

"Really? What type? Is it functional? What kind of power requirements does it have?" blurted out Shane.

Running his finger along the plastic shell, tracing the length of the red spire, General Taggart spoke formally, a bit of a well-rehearsed speech. "The simplest way to describe it would be to call it electromagnetic rail gun. It's the easiest way to grasp what it does without reading through a hundred pages of research on quantum electrodynamics."

Shane frowned. "That doesn't sound very powerful. We've had rail guns for centuries. There are far more formidable weapons out there."

"Ah," smiled General Taggart, "But we've never had one that could launch several thousand tungsten alloy slugs at once. Each one going at about two percent the speed of light and each hitting with the kinetic force of about 15 kilotons of TNT."

"And keep in mind," continued the General, "The Valiant has a targeting precision of about half a centimeter over ten million klicks. And every one of those projectiles can be individually targeted. It can be fired as a cloud, focused into one sustained blast, or anywhere in between. Putting it in laymen's terms it's like firing a shotgun and controlling where every pellet goes."

Shane could not stop the low whistle that came out of his throat. Deeply impressed he murmured out a soft "Wow."

"Com'on," said General Robert Taggart, grinning like a little boy. "Let me give you a tour."

They made their way down the next and last connecting conduit. Shane was moving a little more confidently, finally managing to travel with some sort of decorum in the weak gravity. They were nearing the end, the _Valiant_ 's airlock was just ahead when General Taggart stopped him.

"When you move past this point, the artificial gravity of the ship will start to pull on you. What you think of as ceiling will quickly turn into the floor. If you're careful, you can do a small jump and flip over and land on your feet."

"Umm," stammered Shane, uncertain if he could pull off the maneuver Taggart was explaining.

"Don't feel bad if you just end up belly flopping onto the floor, plenty of us have been in the exact same place."

Hesitantly, Shane took a shallow step forward and then another. He did not feel it at first, but gradually he could perceive something pulling on him. Every inch closer to the mouth of the airlock the pull on him strengthened.

"Whoa," cried Shane as he felt his body slipping upwards. He tried to flip himself like Taggart had explained but he only ended up flailing his arms about as he rose up.

And then suddenly what was up was now down. Shane found himself on his hands and knees on a padded cushion laid out on the airlock's floor. Beside him, Taggart was standing, but only on one leg. The other leg folded awkwardly up against his body. Balancing rather precariously on one foot, the General reached out and grabbed a wooden cane resting on one side of the airlock.

With an audible thump, Taggart pressed the end of the cane into the floor while holding its ornate handle to straighten himself out. Leaning on his cane, the General saw Shane's surprise and said, "Artificial gravity is nice, but there are some disadvantages for me."

Rising unsteadily to his feet, Shane tried an apologetic smile. It did come off as particularly genuine. He had read about the General's war wound, but the man had moved so fluidly in the weak gravity Shane had forgotten. "Forgive me, I didn't realize," he said while gazing at Taggart's lame leg. "Are there no treatments?"

"Neurological damage from Minbari weapons don't heal particularly well," replied the General darkly. "And I've never cared for artificial replacements." He shook his head while looking down at his damaged leg. "Don't worry, it's not that bad. I'm able to get around well enough even in high-g thrust."

"Yes, umm, right," nodded Shane, eager to move from the unpleasant topic.

Looking around, Shane found himself feeling rather disappointed. Given the unique structure of the craft he had assumed the interior would be just as strange. Instead it was the simple ridged metal and plastic frame of a cramped airlock. It looked like any found on an Earthforce ship, right down to the emergency override handle positioned near the inner door.

"Is this…" and Shane indicated the airlock's design with a confused frown.

General Taggart took his cane and rapped it against the wall of the compartment. It made a dull ringing noise. "A retrofit," he answered. "Most of the airlocks on board the _Valiant_ have gone through upgrades to allow for easier access and to hook into the standard docking tubes."

"The original airlocks couldn't be used?" asked Shane.

"Captain Shane," lectured Taggart, "you need to understand whoever built this ship meant for it to be virtually impregnable. It took us nearly three months to cut our way into the first airlock. Replacing them with an Earthforce standard design has made it considerably easier to get in and out."

Crossing through the inner airlock doorway, they entered something akin to an antechamber. Unlike the human built compartment behind them, this room was clearly designed by alien hands. Laid out in an octagonal shape it had four arched doorways leading deeper into the ship. While the floor appeared to be polished silvered steel, the walls, and the ceiling looked like the room had been carved from one giant crystal. The ceiling, a good three meters above their heads, arched up and then back down in a semi-irregular pattern. Colored a deep blue Shane could help but think it look like a pool of water where someone had tossed in a stone, ripples on a pond. The unmoving waves all encircled a single shining bright blue-white crystal lighting up the entire space.

Shane looked about, trying to get his bearings in this strange room. "Do we still have no idea who built this ship?"

"None really," replied Taggart. "Originally there was some thought the Lumati might have built her, given some of the similarities to the _Valiant_ we'd seen in their ships. But as we learned more about the Lumati we quickly ruled them out."

"But we must have some idea what race was able to create..." and Shane swung his arm around the crystal room "…all this. I mean the reports I've read…"

Taggart interrupted him with a snort. "You've been reading Professor Stones' reports." The General shook his head wearily. "I have to continually rein that man in. He's all over the place with his speculations."

"His theories about some extinct warrior race who created this ship to fight in some massive war?"

"Just guesses on the Professor's part," answered Taggart as he began to move down the center passage. He walked with just a hint of a limp, his wooden cane providing him the needed support. Regular sets of 'tap…tap' came as the tip of the walking stick hit the metal floor.

As they walked through the arched doorway of the chamber Taggart pointed at it with the end of his cane. "What we do know for a fact about our mystery builders we've inferred from the _Valiant_ herself. Almost every room, corridor, and doorways are, at least, three meters tall. So we believe they were taller than us on average."

Now they were walking down a long hexagonal shaped corridor. More blue-white gems jutted from the ceiling, lighting their path. "They also likely saw into the ultraviolet end of the spectrum from the light coming from these crystals."

Walking along Shane fought down the urge to ask more questions about the ship. The marvel and sheer size of the _Valiant_ were causing him to get distracted from his true mission. Once he was in command, he would have plenty of time to learn all her secrets. It was time to get down to business.

"General," he broached carefully. "I've heard your arguments that the best use of this extraordinary vessel is to retrofit her for operational duty. Do you still hold to this theory?"

Taggart did not immediately respond. They continued walking in a growing uncomfortable silence, only broken by the soft taps of the General's cane.

Shane was nearly ready to continue when Taggart suddenly began to speak. "When I took command of this base the research teams were still hacking off chunks of the hull or equipment inside with the idea if they could take this ship apart so they could learn how it worked. Poking at it like we were an army of monkeys trying to figure out a modern day shuttle."

"The technology on this ship is revolutionary," argued Shane. "Artificial gravity, gravimetric propulsion, a hull capable of regenerating and re-growing damaged sections. Unlocking how any one of these systems worked could leap frog us ahead of the others races."

General Taggart shook his head slowly. "I don't disagree with you, Captain. I am quite eager to produce a whole fleet of ships like the _Valiant_. But our crude attempts at dismantling this ship had been a complete failure. My plan has been to get her operational. Fly the _Valiant_ with an actual crew and as we did, we would learn how it all works."

"Earthdome no longer agrees," said Shane simply. He found he took no joy in delivering the news. The General was seemingly an amicable enough man and had worked hard to turn the derelict alien ship into something useful. It was not his fault things had changed.

Taggart's eyes narrowed. "Just what are you saying, Captain Shane?"

Best to pull the Band-Aid off in one pull, considered Shane. "My orders are to take control of the _Valiant_. Since her engines are still nonfunctional, she'll be towed to the shipyards above Mars. Interplanetary Expeditions will take over the job of learning how the ship works."

The General just stared at him wide eyed. "You will retain command of the Nereid base," continued Shane briskly. "My understanding is there will be new ships to be built here and we'll need your expertise in working with advanced alien technologies."

"No." It was General Robert Taggart's only response.

Sighing, Shane implored, "Let's not make this difficult General Taggart, shall we? My orders come directly from President Clark. I know this project has been important to you. But now I will…"

"No," said Taggart again, interrupting Shane. It seemed his friendly smiles were just a thin veneer over the much harder man underneath. All the pleasantries had gone out of him. Now the General's face was cold and ruthless. "You're not going to do a damn thing."

So it would be the hard way, after all, reflected Shane dispassionately. A pity. Touching his link, he called for Lieutenant Monroe. "Lieutenant…" he began but got no further when Taggart swung his cane in a tightly controlled arched and struck Shane in the head.

The blow knocked Shane to his knees. Agony radiated from the side of his face where the handle of the walking stick had hit him. Shane could not believe the man would attack him so brazenly. He knew he should have brought his PPG with him. Struggling back to his feet, he yelled into his open link. "Lieutenant! I need assistance now! General Taggart has attacked me…"

Thunk! came the blow as Taggart hit him again with his cane.

He had tried to block the blow, but the General was very fast with his simple weapon and Shane collapsed back to the steel floor of the Valiant. His vision blurring, he saw Taggart looming above him and he commanded "Shut up!" Then opening his own comlink the General called out, "Jessica, are you and your men aboard?"

"Of course, General," came the sound of Lieutenant Jessica Monroe over the Taggart's links. Her voice was cordial, almost amused. "Sounds like you're having problems with Captain Eddie."

"I've dealt with enough snakes in my time," replied Taggart as he glared down at Shane. "I can handle one more."

"I know, sir. But I've had to put up with the little maggot since leaving Io Station. I'd be delighted to toss him out an airlock."

On the floor, his head throbbing miserably, Captain Edward Shane gaped at General Taggart. Stunned by both the blows and the betrayal. Shane had just assumed he was in control. He had the orders. He had the men. He was Nightwatch. This was to be his greatest assignment.

Leaning down, Taggart glowered angrily, "Earthdome must really not think much of me if they sent the likes of you to take me down."

"You won't get away with this!"

Taggart raised his arm holding his walking stick. Its handle was now bloodied. Shane shrank back in fear.

"Now listen to me you miserable little pissant," began General Taggart. "Your ability to continue to breath is going to be completely dependent on you doing exactly what I say. You will help me and my people get the hell out of here."

"Where do you think you can go?" sniveled Shane weakly. "The _Aegean_ is under orders to take this station apart if you don't comply with the President's orders."

A smile, a small one, returned to the General's face. "I don't need the _Aegean_. I've got my own." He tapped the end of his cane twice against the steel floor.

The man was insane, realized Shane. "Are you crazy? The ship's engines don't work!"

"On the contrary, my dear Captain Shane," replied a smug Robert Taggart. "The ship's engines are fully functional. I've poured the last three years of my life into making her live again."

He gazed, almost reverently, around the crystal walls of the ship and said, "The _Valiant_ is mine and I'm taking her!"


	2. Don't Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out

**April 20th, 2260 09:15**

**Bridge of the EAS Valiant**

* * *

Entering the _Valiant_ 's command deck General Robert Taggart found himself surrounded by a steady buzz of activity as his crew frantically worked to get the _Valiant_ under way. Leaning on his cane, he took a few spare seconds to look over the bridge. Of the many wonders of his ship, he held this room as one of the most amazing. The roughly oval room had gently curved walls, arching upward to a domed ceiling more than twenty meters above him. With every point along those sloping sides covered in glittering blue and purple crystals. It was like working inside a giant geode.

"Report," ordered Taggart as he strode forward, for the moment not relying on his cane.

Without looking up from the open hole in the floor where he learned over a glowing array of crystals, Professor William Stone said, "Ten minutes till we're ready."

A sigh, which was at this point much more like a growl, came out of Taggart. "You said the same thing ten minutes ago and then ten minutes before that."

The professor did not answer. Instead, he reached into the flickering rectangular set of gems and worked some unseen control. With his squat body, he had to squirm halfway into the opening to perform the job. The lights coming from the crystals brightened for a moment and then winked out.

"Damn it!" cursed Stone. Leaning in even further until just his legs were visible he began pulling on one of the larger unlit jewels. After he yanked it out with some muttered curses, he slowly straightened up and handed the purple octagonal crystal to his assistant.

"Conner, get me another one just like this. Needs to be the same color," directed Stone. With a quick bob of his head the young, fair-haired Conner Olson scurried off to retrieve another power crystal.

Watching all this play out, Taggart felt his leg begin to ache miserably. This morning had been one near disaster after another. A small, irrational part of himself, just wanted to sit down and drink his coffee in peace. But he couldn't. Too many things were in motion now and he was never one to sit still when events got heated. Bum leg or not.

Coming up behind William, Taggart's voice dropped to an angry whisper. "You told me you had the control system operational."

"No," replied Professor Stone patiently, behaving as if he was lecturing one of his students, "I said I needed two days to get it operational. The _Aegean_ came early and I'm doing the best I can."

Biting down on the rest of his ire, Taggart turned from the professor and let the man get back to work. William Stone had never been one to react well to Earthforce's military structure and as much as he might want to, Taggart knew barking orders at the man would do no good. He needed Stone focused on getting the ship functional or his little rebellion would be over before it started.

He turned away the grumbling professor and went looking for Sergeant Andrea Wilson. He found the young woman monitoring the _Valiant_ 's communication station. Her black hair tied back in a neat bun. Unlike the navigation and operation systems Stone was trying to get working the ship's communication systems were fully functional. Sergeant Wilson sat in a seat while working an operating console, not unlike one found on an Earthforce ship. Her hands worked skillfully over switches, knobs, and a slew of touch sensitive controls. It all look very out of place compare to the rest of the alien ship. Indeed, her station's normalcy only extended to her control board. Instead of connecting to a standard display, a string of cables came out the console's backside and ran into a series of black boxes sitting on the deck. Each box was in turn intricately connected to a crystal growing out of the wall behind the station. All the crystals glowed a different hue, their combined rainbow effect shimmering with a soft glow.

Approaching Wilson, Taggart could see the glowing light projected by the crystals gradually resolve into a high-resolution hologram. From her seat the projection was at a slight slant towards the Sargent, providing a detailed three-dimensional display of all the comm traffic in the surrounding area.

"Anything change from the _Aegean_?" asked Taggart.

Wilson paused before answering, listening in to her earpiece. "No sir," she replied, "They're still trying to raise both Captain Shane and Lieutenant Monroe."

"Alright," nodded Taggart touched his own comlink and called for Monroe. "Jessica, we're going to need to buy some more time. Get up here on the double."

"Alright, sir," came back the Lieutenant's reply. "I'm still trying to get our Nightwatch friend to spill on any details on the _Aegean_ or Clark's plans in general."

Pausing, Taggart considering what to do with Edward Shane. On the face of it, the man was Nightwatch scum and an overconfident idiot. The quick and easy solution would be to put a PPG round into his head and be done with it. He had been less than helpful since Taggart had clocked him over the head, but Shane could, at least, be counted on to look out for his own neck. Given that, there was still the possibility the Captain might have some use in their escape.

"Bring Shane with you," directed Taggart and cut the link. Turning back to Wilson he said, "Put me through to the _Aegean_."

The sergeant touched a series of controls on her board and then looked up with a nod. Taggart shifted his weight to his good leg, trying to relieve the all too familiar pain in his bad one when he put too much strain on it. Forcing a measure of calm and authority he did not feel, Taggart addressed the open link to the Earthforce ship.

"This is General Taggart," he began with faked liveliness, "I'm sorry for the delay, _Aegean_. What can I do for you?"

A few seconds ticked by and then Taggart heard a voice respond from the comm station. It was a man's voice, not one he recognized. "General, this is _Aegean_ command. We've been trying to reach Captain Shane and Lieutenant Monroe for the last half an hour. Is there a problem?"

'Is there a problem?' The question hung out there, broadcasted on an open channel. Nothing in the tone of the voice hinted they knew what was really going on. Just the ordinary concerned courtesy from one crew to another. But looks could be deceiving and the times were hardly normal.

"No problem," replied Taggart easily. "We have several areas in the base that are radiosensitive. Can't always get a clear comlink. I'll have Lieutenant Monroe on the line is a sec."

Technically this was not a lie. The _Valiant_ had several areas that were impenetrable to all forms of the electromagnetic spectrum. Even the most powerful of radio broadcasts would not be able to get through. Although just how much the crew of the _Aegean_ knew about the operation of the base and the secret ship were an open question.

"Thank you, General," came the curt reply from the other vessel.

Taggart signaled for Sergeant Wilson to mute the channel. When she had done so, he asked, "What's the _Aegean_ 's status?"

"Twenty klicks out, standard orbit around Nereid," reported Ensign Mashibe from a nearby sensor console.

"Let's see them," requested Taggart. "Project the _Aegean_ on one of the overhead screens."

The young man from the Central African Block grimaced as he looked over his controls. "Umm…sir, I'm not sure…"

"Second control on the top row, press and hold till it lights green," replied Taggart without having to think about the answer.

"Yes, sir," responded an embarrassed Mashibe as he followed the General's instruction. In response, a section of wall on the concaved bridge to his left began to twinkle and shimmer with projected light. Soon the picture of a Hyperion-class ship resolved, silhouetted against the deep blue colored sphere of Neptune.

"Their weapons?" queried Taggart as he studied the image of the _Aegean_.

"Offline," replied Mashibe as he worked his controls.

"General?" broke in Wilson, "If I'm reading the scans from the _Aegean_ correctly, she's got an ongoing tight beam transmission."

Taggart felt his forehead crease at the unexpected news. "Who are they talking with?"

Wilson shook her head. "I don't know. The source of the tight beam appears to be empty space."

Not a good sign reflected Taggart to himself. His plan to steal the _Valiant_ had been carefully carried out over the last three weeks. Making sure only his most trusted people were working on the ship as its engines came online. Cautiously reaching out to Jessica Monroe to offer her escape from an ever escalating conflict with the civilian population on Io station. Getting enough supplies on board so they could make the journey to the Orion VII colony. Any point along the way something might have gone wrong. But up until this morning Taggart had believed they had been one step ahead of Clark's paranoid regime. That assumption had collapsed when the _Aegean_ had come nearly a day early.

Breaking his reverie was the sight of Lieutenant Jessica Monroe entering the bridge with two of her Marines escorting Captain Shane. It had been more than two years since he had seen the woman. Taggart wished their reunion had not come under such difficult circumstances. The truth was, she had been a godsend. Brilliantly playing her role as the obedient soldier while covertly working for him. Far too many other officers had underestimated the small Marine. Such as a certain Nightwatch Captain.

Looking Edward Shane over, he saw Jessica had indeed been busy. The man looked quite worse for wear. In addition to the large welt on his forehead where Taggart had hit him, Shane now sported a bruise on his jaw and a busted lip.

"General," announced Monroe as she, her men, and their prisoner came to a stop before him. She gave Shane an annoyed smile and continue, "He's not said much of use, just complains about his 'unethical' treatment."

Taggart rolled his eyes at Shane's protest and then pointed to the comm station. "Get on the line with the _Aegean_ and stall," he instructed the Lieutenant. "Tell them you're in the middle of assuming control over the station. Drag it out as long as possible."

Jessica nodded and sat down in the seat next to Sergeant Wilson, pulling on matching earpiece. Taggart turned back to Shane and his two escorts. The Captain shot him a look of complete disgust. He ignored the man's scowl and asked, "The _Aegean_ has an open tight beam communication running. Who are they talking to?"

Shane's eyes widened and he then quickly looked away. He had been surprised by Taggart's question, not realizing the ability of the _Valiant_ 's sensors. Still looking away, Shane said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

Robert Taggart pulled his PPG pistol from its holster and pointed at Shane. His words came out slow and angry. "Who. Are. They?"

Shane trembled at seeing Taggart's gun, but he still said nothing.

"You don't think I won't use this?" asked Taggart as he took a step closer, his weapon never wavering from Shane's head. "I have already gone very far to get this point. Do not think I won't add your worthless hide to the cost."

The Nightwatch officer licked lips and finally broke. "It's a stealth microsat. Relaying everything going on here to a nearby Psi Corps ship.

At Shane's admission Taggart frowned. "Psi Corps?"

"There was one of them on the _Aegean_ ," broke in Monroe from the comm station. "Creepy bastard. I did my best to keep him clear of my men and me."

"Perfect," grumbled Taggart. This had all the signs of a situation rapidly escalating. Nodding towards the Lieutenant, he asked, "You getting anywhere with them, Jessica?"

"Not really," sighed Monroe. She jerked thumb towards Shane, "They want to talk to him."

Turning back to Captain Shane, Taggart smiled a cruel little smile. "Time to shine, Edward."

"You can go to hell," replied Shane shakily.

Taggart took in Shane's response with a touch of surprise and considered the possibility the man actually had some backbone after all. The preening Nightwatch officer made it easy to see him as a brash twit, but people could be more than they appeared. It almost made him regret what he did next. Pointing his pistol down, Taggart shot Shane in the foot.

The scream of pain that came from Captain Edward Shane was loud and sudden enough to halt everyone's activity on the bridge. The PPG round had gone right through Shane's black polished shoes, burning into skin. He flailed about, still mewling. Without his escorting Marines to hold him up, he would have collapsed to the floor.

"That was the low setting," said Taggart darkly. His voice filled with quiet menace and he made a point of showing Shane his adjusting the pistol to a higher setting. "The next shot burns right down to the bone."

"Monster," blubbered Shane. Taggart just pointed the gun at the man's other, undamaged, foot. "Alright! Alright!" shouted Shane, capitulating at the threat of more pain. Sniveling and sniffing, he asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Get on the line with the _Aegean_ and tell them everything is fine," commanded Taggart.

With the two Marines help, he hobbled over to Wilson's station. Andrea Wilson looked dismayingly between Captain Shane the General Taggart. She was still young and wanted to hold on to the belief that deep down people were intrinsically good, thought Taggart. That using force was only the last resort, not the first. It was an illusion he had lost a long time ago. Giving a shake of her head, she reconnected the _Aegean_.

Lieutenant Monroe jumped out of her seat and promptly pushed Shane into the empty chair. He hissed in pain as the voice of _Aegean_ control came over the speaker. "Captain Shane, has order twenty-one sixteen been carried out?"

Taggart felt his jaw tighten. Bending down as much as his crippled leg would allow, he growled in a low, angry whisper to Shane. "What's order twenty-one sixteen?"

Shooting Monroe a thoroughly disgusted look, Shane said, "Lieutenant Monroe was supposed to assist me in taking over the base and the _Valiant_. That's order twenty-one sixteen."

With the other ship still waiting Taggart said quickly, "Say this: 'Yes, Order twenty-one sixteen has been carried out. General Taggart is not happy with his new orders, but will cooperate.' Don't deviant at all."

"Fine," muttered Shane. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he repeated the line exactly as Taggart had ordered.

There was a pause on the other end. One of those deep instincts Taggart had honed over his military career began to kick in. The message had been some sort of code, with the expectation of a specific response. He should have seen that coming. Too many distractions, too many things to worry about. Well, it was his first mutiny, bound to get a few things wrong.

"Sir," spoke up Wilson, "the _Aegean_ just dropped connections with us."

And not a second later, Ensign Mashibe added, "They're powering up weapons."

From his seat, Shane sneered at Taggart defiantly, "Everyone knew how important this project was for you. No one expected you to just give it up." He craned his neck, looking around the bridge at Taggart's people. "All of you are traitors! You'll all be spaced for…Ahhgg!" He was promptly cut off as Monroe punched him in the face.

If Taggart had the presence of mind, he would have just shot Edward Shane right there and then. But more important matters held his attention. Twisting about on his good leg, he shouted towards the professor still working away on the ship's control. "We're out of time, Stone. We need to go now!"

Professor Stone looked up from his work, his face tense. With a shake of his head, he said, "I can give you thrusters."

"We can't escape on thrusters!" thundered Taggart.

"I know," snapped Stone. "Give me a few more minutes, I'm close. But we can get under way while I work."

Taggart rubbed his forehead. This was going to get messy. He had planned to steal the _Valiant_ from right under Earthforce's nose. Simple and easy. No one would needlessly get hurt. He shot a glance at the beaten form of Captain Shane. It was already too late for such hopes.

"Everyone to their stations," ordered Taggart. "We're leaving now."

The crew not already at their positions quickly moved into their assigned seats. Taggart moved to his own command station. There had not been time to install the captain's chair. He would have to stand. So be it. An overview of ships functions and summary of status glowed to life as he took his place.

As he looked over the bridge, from one station to the next, he held each crew member's gaze for a moment. Giving each a small, confident smile. Letting them all see the General was confident about their ability to escape. Beholding the _Valiant_ 's command deck a rather unfortunate flaw came to light. No one was sitting at the navigation or operation stations. A quick check around led Taggart to wearily realize they did not have anyone ready to fly the ship.

"Stone," said Taggart urgently. "You'll need to run…"

The professor cut him off, "I can't." He was working away at running a thick black cable into the crystal lattice. "I need to finish here."

From behind him, Taggart heard Shane give a pained laugh. "All of you should just surrender."

Ignoring Shane, Stone glanced around, his eyes finally resting on his assistant standing awkwardly off to the side. "Connor, you know how the systems work. Take the operations station."

The young man nodded nervously and slid in into one of the empty seats. One more to go.

"Sergeant Wilson, you've practiced on the ship's simulator, haven't you?" question the professor.

"Umm…yes," answered Wilson hesitantly.

"Get up there, Sergeant," ordered Taggart as he pointed to the last empty station.

"Yes, sir," replied Wilson obediently. She slid into the seat next to Connor Olson, who was still was apprehensively glancing over the controls.

With the comm station now empty, Taggart turned to Lieutenant Monroe. "Jessica, if you could take communications. You'll find it's not too difficult to operate."

Monroe smiled faintly as she moved into position. "I always have the most fun with your assignments, Robert." Glancing to where Shane still sat in the nearby chair, Taggart could just make out what she said to the man. "You even look at me funny and I'll snap your neck."

The illuminated section of the crystalline dome was still focused on the _Aegean_. The ship was currently maneuvering into the docking section of the moon base. They still were operating on the assumption the _Valiant_ was still inoperable. Good thought Taggart. Let them waste time with a pointless docking procedure.

"Bring up all the screens," directed Taggart. "Full tactical."

At his command, all the arching walls began to shimmer. The individual crystal shards making up the dome shifted in color and brightness. Starting at the front of the bridge, the wall appeared to fade away. The effect stretched out, at first slowly and then gaining speed as the entire dome was replaced with the outside view of the enclosed docking bay holding the _Valiant_. The effect was purely an illusion. The walls were still there, solid as ever. But now they projected one continuous hologram of the outside of the ship. Better than any physical window, the wrap around view was highlighted with additional tactical information augmented with sensor data coming in from around the ship.

Seeing the fully functional bridge for the first time, Monroe gave a loud whispered "Amazing."

"Beginning to retract moorings and docking tubes," reported Connor.

"Belay that," said Taggart, "we don't have the time. Bring the maneuvering jets to one-third and back us out."

"Sir?" question Wilson.

"It's not like we're coming back here," replied Taggart. "Reverse direction, one-third."

"Aye, sir. Reverse thrust at one-third."

For a good thirty seconds nothing changed on screen. The web connecting tubes and framework around the ship did not budge. Sensor information on his screen did confirm the thrusters were working. But then Taggart felt the slightest of tremors run through the ship. A rumble, sounding like it was coming from very far away, could be heard. Finally, Taggart could see with his own eyes they were moving. On screen, the accordion-like plastic conduits began to stretch and tear. A part of the lattice attached to the ship started to bend. After uncounted centuries, the _Valiant_ was moving on her own.

Connor's voice leaped in, high and excited. "Port side bracing clamps are beginning to sheer, but the braces on the starboard side are holding us fast. It's throwing us off."

"Easy there, kid," said Taggart sternly. "Sergeant Wilson, give us some extra torque with the lateral thrusters."

"I'm sorry, what do you want me to do?" questioned Wilson with a confused frown.

"Rock her back and forth," put in Professor Stone from his open hatch. Seeing both Wilson and Connor's eyes widen he added, "Don't worry the ship can take it."

Their outside view of the bay was quickly veering to the right as the ship's course was being hindered by the remaining supports holding the _Valiant_ in place. "Do it," ordered Taggart.

Wilson's hands flew over her controls. The ship made another shudder, this time stronger than before. Part of the latticework encircling the _Valiant_ smashed into the ship's side as they pivoted. A low but gradually building groan seemingly came from everywhere. Worried expressions bloomed on the face of the crew. Even Professor Stone's expression furrowed in worry.

The countering action of the thrusters began to take effect. The ship swung to and fro like it was an old clipper ship on an Earthborn ocean in a storm. Taggart could see the metal conduits webbed around the _Valiant_ begin to tear. Solid carbon fiber steel struts began to splinter apart like matchwood. Their careening course inside the manmade cave started to stabilize.

One more groan shuddered through the deck and then Connor whooped, "We're free!"

Not quite yet, thought Taggart. The long length of the ship took up a good deal of the hanger and now that they were freed, the docking bay doors rapidly grew in size. The massive doors would be able to hold _Valiant_ indefinitely. However, this barrier was the one thing Taggart did not have to worry about today. He had just finished putting in the override controls when Captain Shane came calling. With a flick of a switch on his command console, the doors began to slide open.

"Steady as we go," ordered Taggart. "Let's try to not bang into anything else," he added, unable to keep the smile out of his voice.

"Aye, sir," came the chorused voices of Wilson and Conner.

"What's the status on the _Aegean_?" called Taggart as the bay doors opened fully. Outside the inky blackness of space, speckled with stars, fill the bridge's stern view.

Ensign Mashibe reported quickly. "Looks like they realized we're able to move on our own. They're pulling away from the docking ring to the station."

"Stone," warned Taggart, "where are my engines?"

"Nearly there! Five more minutes."

That would be close. While the _Aegean_ was an older class ship, she still had teeth. Specifically, Taggart was worried about the other craft's two thermonuclear torpedoes. They might not be able to actually destroy the _Valiant_ , but they could certainly do a good deal of damage.

It played out at almost agonizingly slow pace. They gradually pulled out of the massive bay that had been the ship's home for the last four years. The _Valiant_ almost seemed reluctant to go. Taggart also felt a small little lurch in his chest. Silly sentimentalism he supposed. The base had been his home as well and before coming here it had been long since Robert Taggart had anything like a home.

"We are clear of the hanger," informed Conner.

With a deep sigh, Taggart ordered the ship to come about and put as much distance between themselves and the _Aegean_. With only the ship's thrusters they would not move very fast. If Professor Stone could get the _Valiant_ 's actual engines running, they would have all the speed they would need to make their escape.

Monroe said suddenly, "General, looks like the _Aegean_ is trying to talk to us again."

"Ah," replied an amused Taggart. "They're realizing this isn't going to be as easy as they thought." Maybe he could buy them a minute or two more.

"Put them through to my console. Let's see what they've got to say."

A few seconds later the project screen hovering before Taggart changed. The crisp video image of a standard Hyperion-class bridge appeared. Focused in the center of the video stream was the unhappy face of _Aegean_ 's commander, Colonel Amala Patel.

She spoke with harsh, displeased voice. An angry mother scolding her child. "General Taggart, just what do you think you're doing?"

"Hello Amala," replied Taggart with a tired smile, "it's been awhile, hasn't it?"

The Colonel's bronze toned face softened ever so slightly. "Yes, it has, sir. You know I've always held you in high regard, even after your breakdown." She paused and when she spoke again, her hard resolve was back. "Again, I'll ask you what do you think you're doing?"

"Well I thought it was rather obvious," said Taggart with a slight shrug. "I'm stealing the _Valiant_."

Patel shook her head, almost sadly. "You can't possibly think you're going to escape."

"I'm going to give it one helluva of a try," answered Taggart. The Colonel was just about to open her mouth in reply when he cut the connection. Her video image vanished from view. His eyes then turned to roam over the tactical summary screens. The mass of the moon Nereid was between the _Valiant_ and the _Aegean_. Sensors showed the other ship picking up speed, catching up to their slower moving vessel.

"Last time I'm going to ask, Professor," said Taggart through nearly clenched teeth. "Where's my engines?"

"Alright," puffed Stone as he straightened up from his work. He gestured to the chaotic network of cables and crystals in the floor. "This whole thing is strung together like a bunch of old Christmas tree lights. Let's not bang us around too much."

"I promise nothing," grumbled Taggart. But his curt response was drowned out as low thrumming noise pulsed through the ship. An almost electric feeling, like a slight static shock, brushed across his neck making him flinch. Taggart saw everyone else on the bridge do the same.

"Gravimetric drives online," reported Connor from the operations station. Sighs of relief came from many around the bridge.

Their brief repose was of course short lived. An alarm went off on Taggart's console followed by an urgent warning from Mashibe. "The _Aegean_ is coming around the limb of Nereid. Their weapons are locking on to us."

"Sergeant Wilson," ordered Taggart, "let's get the hell out of here."

"Yes, sir!" came Wilson's enthusiastic response.

Controls were operated, their course was laid in, and the _Valiant_ 's drives were ready to push them through space in a bubble of controlled gravity. Then with a simple press of the execute button, Andrea Wilson ordered the ship to launch itself on path away from the encroaching danger.

As the button was pushed, a relay in her console was tripped, and a small electrical current was generated. The signal was transmitted to the black cables in back of the console. It then traveled into the specially built interface devices connecting the Human built controls to the alien ship's piezoelectric crystals. The impulse of the precise electronic frequency triggered the meshed collective network of computers on the ship to activate the gravity drive…

…and then nothing happened.


	3. Some Assembly Required

**April 20** **th** **, 2260 09:25**

**Bridge of the EAS Valiant**

* * *

Andrea Wilson was ten years old when her father took her to the Palomar Observatory outside their home in San Diego. She had recently discovered one of his antique cameras. It was a relic from an age where they still used chemically treated film to take pictures. Tinkering away, she finally got the clunky old device working. He had been eager to develop her budding interest in science. So they made it a Father-Daughter day, trekking up the mountains to see the white domes of the ancient telescopes.

The site had long ago become a historic landmark, far too much light from the ever encroaching cities had polluted the night sky. Robbing the sensitive instruments from seeing the stars above. But by this time all the real astronomy research was now done at the Armstrong Observatory on the moon.

This had hardly mattered to Andrea. She was entranced by the "Big Eye" Hale Telescope. A massive mirror three times taller than her father. It was here where men like Edwin Hubble had peered into the mysterious dark sky and revealed just how vast and ancient the universe truly was. And after that day, Andrea was hooked. She knew her future lay among the stars.

Her father had wanted her to follow in his footsteps of academia. A quiet life of research and study. That was not for Andrea. Humanity was no longer bound to their birth world. Why look at the stars when you could **go** to the stars. He appealed to her; she could work from one of the mega-corps like IPX or Edgar Industries research divisions. Be part of an expedition to an ancient abandon world. But she wanted no part of exploring some dusty old tomb. She wanted to travel and see the universe. Up close and personal.

When she told him she was joining Earthforce, his eyes had wearily closed and he shook his head. "Andrea," he had said, "Why? You are so much more. You have the grades, the skill, and the opportunity for any number of universities. Why throw it away by joining a bunch of jackbooted thugs!"

"Daaaddd..." she had groaned out. That one word covering all her complaints. "Earthforce is not made up of a bunch of thugs. They're good people working to protect us and explore the galaxy. And I'll be there, right on the front lines."

"Yes!" he had thundered back. "Getting shot at!"

He had never really understood her. She was not like him, wanting to live in the safety of his books and research papers. And he still saw her as his impetuous little girl. Eager to run off on some make-believe adventure. Yet Andrea now sat at navigation station onboard the _Valiant_ , piloting a real alien starship. On an adventure far beyond her wildest imagination.

Unfortunately, her father was right about one thing. She was being shot at.

"Incoming!" shouted Ensign Mashibe.

Andrea flicked her eyes from her console's display to the overarching wall of the _Valiant_ 's bridge. It was not necessary, she had all the same information outputted to her private holographic display, but a part of her wanted to see the controlled blast of plasma that was going to kill her. Up-close and personal. And nothing beat the gigantic view screen wrapping around the walls of the bridge. It made for a very easy illusion one was floating in the middle of deep space.

She looked into endless black and saw the EAS _Aegean_ hanging in front of her. It's blocky gray and blue design looked so inelegant compared to the exotic _Valiant_. Humans continued to struggle with aesthetics in their spaceships. Functional design still ruled. The _Aegean_ was not the most artistic representation of humanity's skills, but it did not make it any less deadly.

Three bright flashes flared from the forward guns on the Hyperion-class cruiser. At their distance from the _Valiant_ , it took no time to reach them. Andrea did not even time to tighten her grip on the console before her and prepare for the impact.

But no violent explosions came. Not even the mildest of rocking of the ship. Andrea blinked. Nothing had changed. The _Aegean_ still floated before them. The cratered surface of Nereid a backdrop behind the attacking ship.

Mashibe surprised voice spoke up behind her. "They...missed."

"Warning shots," explained General Robert Taggart with an irritated click of his tongue. "They don't want to damage their prize."

Andrea heard the 'tap-tap' of his cane and did not need to turn to tell he was right behind her. Only moments before she had carried out his order to get the _Valiant_ under way. With the alien ship's gravimetric drive, they should be able to run circles around the less maneuverable _Aegean_. But after she had sent the commands into the ship's primary control system, nothing happened.

"Sergeant Wilson, report," called the General. "Why aren't we moving?"

Fumbling for a few seconds, Andrea ran through everything she knew about the control systems. She was sure she had entered the commands correctly. "I...I don't know, sir. It should be working. Drive systems should have engaged." She hesitated as her mind ran through the myriad sets of circuits interfacing the Human built control systems with the alien technology on board.

"Maybe-" she began.

"Stone!" thundered the General, not giving her a chance to continue, "What the hell is going on!?"

From his nearby workstation, the older professor's face was a mask of wrinkled tension. His eyes were rapidly scanning over his monitors. "Control systems show green. I can confirm what Sergeant Wilson is seeing. We should be moving."

"Well," growled out General Taggart, "we obviously aren't."

A tired and more than a little irritated sigh came from Stone. "Robert, these engines have not been used in nearly a thousand years. Beyond simulations, we've never even power them up. There could be flaws."

Behind her, Taggart chewed out his next words like he was biting through iron. "Fix. It."

The two men were staring each other down, seeming close to coming to blows. Frustration and fear hung heavily in the space between them. For the moment, the dangers outside the ship took a back seat to the problems within.

Beside her in the copilot's chair, Connor meekly spoke up, "I think the drive might need time to initialize the field correctly. We have to compensate for the gravity wells of Neptune, Nereid, and even the _Aegean_. So, if we change the gravity field like this-" and Connor's hand touched one the controls.

Then what felt like a giant hand was shoving Andrea into her seat. It was incredibly strong, but it only lasted a fleeting second. Gone as fast as it had arrived. But she was not the only one to feel the strange effect. Surprised yelps and cries came from around the bridge. Andrea was further startled as a grunt came from beside her. General Taggart was on his knees, his face gone pale with pain.

"Sir," she cried, grabbing on to her commanding officer, trying to support him as he worked to right himself. His bad leg folded awkwardly underneath him. His body was putting too much weight on the weakened limb.

With one strong hand on her shoulder, Taggart rose and steadied himself. In a much softer voice only she would hear, he said, "Thank you, Sergeant." Looking around the bridge, his pained expression was replaced with addled confusion. "What just happened?"

"I'm not sure..." muttered Stone as he worked over his console. "Checking systems."

Andrea looked down at her controls. Something was not right. A trickle of instrument readings showed something impossible. But it was Lieutenant Monroe, looking at the overall big picture of the room wrapping holographic display who realized what had happened. "We're moving...or well...we did move."

All eyes went to the display of the arched dome. The blue-green orb of Neptune was still there. But the small moon of Nereid was far behind them and the _Aegean_ was nothing more than a dot.

General Taggart hobbled on his good leg to turn and face Connor. "Mr. Olson, what did you just do?"

"Well...um...you see," stammered Connor as he nervously fidgeted under the older man's intense gaze. "I was saying...I adjusted...the gravimetric field to realign against the inverse of the local gravity distortion..." He trailed off as General Taggart expression clouded into more confusion.

"He popped the clutch," offered Professor Stone in the way of a layman's explanation. "He got the drive to engage. At least for a moment."

Andrea was working over sensor data, making sense of where they were. "I can confirm we're five hundred sixty kilometers from Nereid and receding. Orbital change of twelve hundred kilometers relative to Neptune."

Taggart let out a low whistle. "That is one helluva delta-v to get off in less than a second of acceleration."

"Yes," mused Stone, "about two hundred gees. Good thing the ship's internal gravity controls were working correctly, or we'd or be a pile of goo on the floor when the acceleration flattened us all like a pancake."

"Good work, young man," said Taggart. "Let's get out of here."

Connor grimaced. "Er...well..."

"What's wrong now?"

Stone cleared his throat. The professor was typing rapidly on his console. "Robert, we got a moment of acceleration but blew out the gravimetric propulsion field in the process. What Connor did worked, but it's not how the _Valiant_ engines are supposed to operate."

"Meaning?" glowered the Taggart as he looked impatiently between Professor Stone and his assistant.

"I think I see what we did wrong the first time. We need to bring the gravity field up slowly and correct for nearby objects of mass. Including the _Valiant_ itself. It's like the whole drive system is out of alignment with the ship. Probably from such a long time of disuse."

"How long will-" and then Taggart stopped himself and said, "Let me guess, ten minutes?"

"Just about, I could go faster, but I think we'd run a greater risk of tearing the ship apart. I'll need to take the gravimetric drives offline."

"Get on it," commanded the General. He bent down to retrieve his cane from where it fell on the floor. As he straightened up, he was already giving more orders. "Ensign Mashibe, what's the status of the _Aegean_?"

"Weapons are still active and they are trying to ping us with their fire control radar." The ensign paused, studying the sensor information. "They're getting under way. Engines at full burn."

"Amala isn't going to give up easily. Won't take long for her to get into firing range, " muttered Taggart. "Sergeant Wilson, get me what possible speed you can out of the ship's thrusters. Keep as much distance as you can from the _Aegean_."

"Aye, sir," obeyed Andrea. She began to work the aft maneuvering jets on the controls. In the seat next to her Connor was working out their course, plotting a course away from the encroaching Earthforce ship.

"That was good work," she whispered to him as she pushed as much power as she thought she could get away with into the _Valiant'_ s maneuvering jets.

"I just sorta guessed," breathed Connor as he inputted the last of his settings.

She smiled and he blushed in response. Connor Olson was even younger than Andrea. Really nothing more than one of Professor William Stone's grad students. She had not heard how he had gotten caught up the General's little rebellion. If they managed to live through this, she was going to have to find out.

"Umm," mumbled Connor as he finished, "course heading twenty degrees by thirty-five. At our current speed, the _Aegean_ will be able to intercept us in five minutes, twenty seconds."

"They'll be able to hit us long before then," said General Taggart with a scowl. He made a few tentative steps toward Professor Stone while leaning heavily on his cane. The _Valiant_ 's brief convulsion of thrust must have brought too much weight on the General's bad leg. But Andrea could see he was not going to show it.

"Stone," she heard the General say, "please tell me the interceptor system is still working."

"It is. The ship's point defense system is running, but it has to be fired manually."

"That, at least, I think we can manage." There was a beep of the General's comlink, he was opening a channel to someone on the ship "Darius, you're going to get to fire the guns."

"Yes, sir!" came the enthusiastic response from Ensign Darius Zemaitis.

"This isn't going to be stationary targets like it was in the docking bay. They'll be very fast and very deadly."

Darius reigned in his exuberance. "I understand, sir," he replied in a calmer tone.

"We'll relay targeting info to you. Get yourself and whoever else you need to down to deck twelve and man the aft guns," ordered General Taggart

"We're on our way now, sir. We won't let you down."

"Damn well better not," replied the General as he broke the link. "Ensign Mashibe, keep a tight watch on the _Aegean_. If they fire off anything, get its course and heading to Darius."

With her focus very much tied to the instruments before her, Andrea managed to risk a quick glance behind her. She saw General Taggart was standing next to Arnold Mashibe, reviewing the man's sensor information. Carefully laying out what he wanted the Ensign to do. Her father was the same age as Taggart, but beyond that one fact they were completely different people. The General was loud, demanding, and had a quick temper. But he also had a great ability to bring people together. To inspire them and make them more than what they were. And he always loyal to those under his command.

"Robert," broke in Lieutenant Monroe, "Colonel Patel is back on the line. She's demanding to talk to you."

"Of course she is," he said with a sigh. "Put her on."

The face of the _Aegean_ 's commanding officer appeared on the part of the arched wall of the bridge. She was strapped into a crash couch, her head pressed back into the protective padding. When she spoke, her voice was strained as she fought the acceleration of her ship clawing its way to catch up with the _Valiant_. "I say again, General Taggart. Surrender."

"Not going to happen."

The Colonel's eyes shifted to somewhere off screen. It could have been the g-forces pulling on her body, but she seemed to sag further into her chair. Then she made a small, weary nod of her head.

Almost at once, Mashibe announced, "We've got two fast movers coming from the _Aegean_."

In space distances were immense and most objects moved at speeds far faster than the human eye could perceive. Yet Andrea still looked into the illusionary hologram wall of the surrounding darkness. Hoping to glimpse the two incoming missiles. But there was nothing to see. The separation between the two ships too great. The projectiles were far too small. All she could do was look down at her sensor readings and see the two rapidly approaching dots.

"Darius," came General Taggart voice. He sounded so calm, thought Andrea. "you're up."

"Ready," came the tiny voice over the General's comlink.

While she could not see the rockets rushing toward them, from the bridge she had a perfect view of the _Valiant_ 's point defense system. All along the alien ship's outer surface were hundreds of small dark green hexagonal nodes. They varied in size from smaller than a basketball to ones nearly as large as a man. When they had first started exploring theValaint, no one had understood the function of bizarre crystals protruding from the ship's hull. It was only by accident when Ensign Zemaitis wired power into what he had incorrectly thought was a ventilation system did they learn. Instead of activating air circulation, Zemaitis caused one the jutting emerald spines to hurl out a swarm of crystallized carbon shards. They had slashed through the protective webbing of struts around the _Valiant_ as if it were wet cardboard.

Now a section along one the larger spires at the rear of the ship came alive. At first, it was nothing more than a few bright flashes. A glint of sunlight from the distant sun reflecting off the fast moving interceptors. But soon dozens more nodes began firing. All of them casting out thousands of razor sharp projectiles at the incoming warheads.

In the cold starlit night a larger flash flared into existence and one the dots on Andrea's monitor vanished. A few seconds later the other dot blinked into nothingness.

The picture of Colonel Patel registered surprise at the destruction of the missiles. General Taggart spoke up, trying to keep back a slightly smug grin. "The ship still needs some work. But we're not defenseless."

Patel's image showed no further reaction. Instead, it was Mashibe who reported her response. "Two more...scratch that...four more missiles inbound."

Again the ship's defenses lit up. Round after round of launched outward as Zemaitis and his team fired madly at the incoming rockets. The first two torpedoes went down quickly. Then seconds later the third vanished in a hail of shards. But the fourth managed to get in close before it was taken down. A brilliant yellow-orange explosion erupted just behind the _Valiant_. A quick check of her console told Andrea the missile had been intercepted at a distance from the Valiant of less than two thousand meters.

"Damn it, Amala," growled General Taggart as the explosion faded on the domed screen. "Stop shooting at us!"

The Colonel's expression hardened. "Then you stop! Taggart, you are the one creating this situation. Stand down and no one will get hurt."

A snort of irritation came from the General. He thumped the tip of his cane into the ground, like judge banging his gavel. "Do you even understand what been going on? On Earth? Out here? Or at the colonies? You've got Nightwatch dogs running around like they're running the show. Earthforce shooting at colonists. And Clark is twisting everything media channel he can get his hands on and disappearing anyone who dares speak up. Everything from our so called president is a lie."

"We've been attacked," shot back Patel. "I've seen the carnage on Ganymede base. Its not been faked. There are alien influences at work. Now, more than ever, we need to protect ourselves."

"By burning down everything!? Destroy anything that doesn't fit into Clark's regime? Follow any order no matter how wrong it is?"

Even under the g-forces pressing her into her seat Colonel Amala managed to shake her head. "We all took an oath to obey the government. We don't get to decide what orders we follow."

"The hell we don't!" thundered General Taggart. "You show me the people who bombed Mars and I'll show you a group of mass murders."

The other woman's face went ashen. Her eyes again flicked to some place off screen. Andrea had to wonder if there was someone else on the _Aegean_ giving the Colonel orders. Patel licked her lips and said, "I know...my brother's family is on Mars."

"Then don't be a tool for Clark's machine. Stand down." The General paused and then turned, sweeping his hand out to indicate the _Valiant_. "Hell, come with us! We're going to need a crew to get the ship fully operational. We can work together."

"To what end? Where would we go?" questioned Patel. "Robert, my crew have families back home. We need to protect them..."

She vanished mid-sentence, the holographic display reverting back to the midnight black of space. General Taggart's face was drawn tight with concern over the drop in communication. But there was little time for discussion, for Mashibe shouted out a warning. "We just fell into the range of the _Aegean_ 's plasma cannons."

"Wilson, Connor, do whatever you can for evasive maneuvers," urgently ordered the General.

Andrea was already rushing through her operational controls to pitch the _Valiant_ into a downward angle relative to the other Earthforce ship. With only simple thrusters pushing the ship, the change of course was a slow, sluggish turn. They were not even halfway through the maneuver when the _Aegean_ again opened fire.

This time, there was no warning shot. No missile to shoot down. A dazzling ball of tightly compressed plasma lobbed out of the _Aegean_ 's forward cannon. It arched through the cold vacuum and slammed into the side of the _Valiant_.

The ship shuddered under the impact. It was quickly followed by two more. Andrea's stomach knotted as she realized her last ditched maneuver was not enough. As a momentary flicker went through the wrap around display, General Taggart yelled, "Damage report!"

Mashibe consulted his board and replied, "Power failures on decks nine and fourteen, and a breach on deck fifteen." He took a steadying breath. "So far it's all minor damage."

"They don't know where to focus their fire," put in Stone from where the professor was hunched over his console. "Their scans can't penetrate the hull. They're just guessing at where we might be vulnerable."

"How about we don't give them a chance to figure it out," snapped the General. "Stone, get us out of here."

A dismayed groan came from the squat little man. Holding his hands up, he made a beseeching gesture of begging for more time. "I don't know if the field is even remotely stable. We could do more damage..."

"William," interrupted General Taggart and his voice had gone surprisingly soft and pleading. "They will pound us apart until this ship is nothing but a ruined, burning wreck. Everyone here will die. Take your best guess and try."

Punctuating the General's point, a bolt from the _Aegean_ 's guns smacked into the side of , longer, flicker went through the view screen.

The old professor gave a shaky nod of his head and said, "Oh hell, we're going to blow up one way or another. Might as well be on our terms." He touched one of the controls on his console and Andrea once again felt the faint electrical charge run across her skin as the _Valiant_ 's main engines powered up. "Gravimetric drives online," reported Stone after a few cautious seconds passed. Then looking directly at Andrea he added, "Take it slowly. Don't push the engines too hard."

Andrea switched her console from thruster controls to the primary navigation. The ship shuddered again from another impact. Her heart in throat, she pressed the button to move the _Valiant_ forward. A seemingly endless moment passed and then the ship began to move.

She shouted, "We're moving!"

There was a quick cheer from the others on the bridge. Beside her, Connor confirmed, "We have point five G of thrust, our vector is stable."

Putting a damper on their rejoicing, General Taggart argued, "That's not very fast. The _Aegean_ can match that."

"Yes, thank you, Robert. I did my best to make sure we didn't tear the ship in two with an unstable gravity field and kill everybody inside with an acceleration which crushed everyone's organs," Stone deadpanned.

A harrumph of disdain came the General, but he said nothing more to the professor. Instead, he directed his ire at Andrea. "Sergeant, get us out of their line of fire!"

"Already on it, sir," she replied as her hands leaped across buttons and switches. Her previous attempt to move the ship downward and away from the pursuing _Aegean_ had been lethargic turn. But now with the main propulsion working the ship spun with surprising ease.

Pivoting downward, she put the ship into a gentle spin. Two more plasma bolts were hurled after them, but with the ship's twisting trajectory they narrowly swept passed the ship's outer spires. Even though they were more than twice the length of the _Aegean_ and with only their modest speed, the _Valiant_ was now far more agile.

"They're turning," reported Mashibe. "Trying to regain a weapons lock on us."

From above the _Aegean_ sprayed a furious blast from her plasma cannons, trying to catch the fleeing _Valiant_. But many of the shots went wide, flying far to the astern of the ship. As Andrea continued to pivot the ship, she guided it like a graceful dancer and avoided the remaining incoming fire.

"Sloppy shooting," commented General Taggart as the _Aegean_ fired. He had a puzzled look on his face, but with a shake of his head, he dismissed his confused frown. "Bring us about," he ordered. "They put everything into catching up with us, now they'll have to bleed off speed to reverse their course."

She complied and once again the ship spun on axis and effortlessly launched in a new direction, heading back towards Nereid. The _Aegean_ could not change course so quickly. They would have to spend time coming to a relative stop and then set a pursuit course.

Lieutenant Monroe spoke up. "It's amazing," she said in soft wonder. "It doesn't feel like we're moving at all."

"Gravimetric propulsion. An artificial gravity well holds us to the deck while we move," said Stone.

"But how are we moving?" asked Monroe with a perplexed frown. "This ship doesn't have anything that looks like a rocket engine."

"By using a controlled gravity field, we are effectively shifting the mass of the _Valiant_ through the fabric of space-time." Seeing the Lieutenant's confusion only deepened, he added, "To put it more colloquially, Miss Monroe - We are literally pushing against the universe itself and the universe pushes back. Makes for one very effective springboard," explained Professor Stone with a wizened look that could only come from years of lecturing to students.

"The Minbari and Centauri have had the tech for centuries," added General Taggart. "As you can see it allows for a considerable advantage in space combat. If we don't want to engage, we should be able to dance around the _Aegean_ all day long."

A silence fell among those on the bridge as they pulled away from the other ship. By the time the crew saw the _Aegean_ turn around and begin to reverse, the _Valiant_ had already passed they dark gray surface of Nereid. Andrea could feel the stirring of the muscles in her neck and back start to relax. They were going to make it!

Breaking the quiet came the voice of Captain Edward Shane. "Well congratulations," sneered the Nightwatch officer. "Just where are you traitors planning on going? Back to the jump gate at Io station? To Mars? You'll need some place to hide."

Andrea had almost forgotten he was still on board. Beyond her brief meeting with him when he arrived at Nereid Station, she had made a point at keeping her distance. The man made her skin crawl. He was too close to what her father feared the military to be – thugs in fancy uniforms. However, at present Captain Shane did appear very fancy. He was beaten and bloodied and the crew of the _Valiant_ was responsible in one form or another for his beating. She had played a minor role, acting as a temporary detraction while General Taggart prepared the ship for their escape. She looked away, right now she did not want to think about it.

Apparently, the General was in the same mood as Andrea, for he did not respond to Shane's questions. Instead, he bent in close to Professor Stone and the two men conferred in muted muttering.

"I bet they're talking about the _Valiant_ 's jump drive," said Connor in a soft voice next to her.

"Does it work?" she asked. They had so busy trying to get the ship's engines working and avoid getting destroyed by the _Aegean_ , Andrea given much thought about escaping into hyperspace.

"Professor Stone has powered it up before. Didn't blow up the ship," replied Connor with a weak smile. "Beyond that? No idea."

In confirmation of Connor's theory, General Taggart soon called out to her. "Sergeant Wilson, how are you with hyperspace navigation?"

"I've never done it," she admitted.

General Taggart offered her a genuine smile. "Well, time to learn. We've pushed our luck this far. Might as well keep at it."

Andrea grinned. "We're on a roll, sir. I'm game."

* * *

**April 20th, 2260 12:35**

**EAS Valiant**

The ever-shifting colors of red and black of hyperspace wavered beyond the porthole in Taggart's stateroom. It was a true window to the outside, not a virtual display found in other places on the ship. One of the reasons why Robert had chosen this compartment. It was an old need of his, to see with his own eyes where he was going.

Neptune, Nereid Station, and the _Aegean_ were all far behind them. There was no sign of pursuit. He had not expected there to be. For the time being, they would be left alone. How long that situation would last was hard to say. Clark and his people in EarthGov would be busy consolidating their current holdings. Earthforce was busy trying to clamp down on the Mars rebellion. They had only been able to spare the _Aegean_ to claim the _Valiant_. And the old Earthforce ship was almost able to take them down.

Or had they? Had Amala Patel pulled her punches? Letting them get away? It was hard to say. Taggart settled into his armchair, finally able to get off his feet. He closed his eyes, weary over this morning's narrow escape. He had too many questions and not nearly enough answers.

His moment of quiet was short lived. A soft electronic buzz came from his quarters only door. The buzzer was a bit of electronics and wiring Robert had hooked up to the door's primary powering crystal. A simple doorbell. Apparently whoever built the _Valiant_ had not needed or wanted any form of signaling to enter a room. In fact, there were few true doors on the ship. Nearly everything was a continuously complicated maze of rooms and corridors.

"Come in," he said.

The door, which was actually multiple shards of blue crystal retracted seamlessly into the floor and adjacent walls. Leaving a hexagonal opening to the outside hallway. Through the open doorway stood Lieutenant Jessica Monroe and Professor William Stone.

Robert asked Jessica as the two entered his room. "Settling in alright?"

"As much as one can in an alien ship where this no furniture and everything is made out of some type of crystal," she replied. Her gaze wandered over the room and his meager belongings. "Yours, at least, looks like something a human being could live in."

"I moved in here nearly two months ago. Before that, this place was just as spartan as everywhere else on the ship." He pointed to a nearby narrow table and several chairs which severed as his makeshift office desk for his two guests to sit down.

"Unfortunately we weren't able to retrofit many of the crew quarters before we were forced to leave," added William as he took a seat. "Hopefully when we get to the Orion colonies we can acquire some furnishings for everyone."

Jessica gave a dry laugh as she joined them. "Ahh, about that..."

"What is it?" questioned Robert.

"With all the fun this morning, we haven't had time to sit down and actually talk. We need to scrap the plan to meet up with General Hague at Orion VII."

"Why?" asked both William and Robert.

"He's not there anymore. The _Alexander_ was hit by the _Clarkstown_ on the way to the colony. They had to make a run for it."

Robert frowned, this was not what he wanted to hear. "Do you know their condition or where they went?"

Jessica gave a shrug. "I kept my ear to the ground while I was on Io station like you asked. Plenty of juicy details to get if you knew the right junior officer to liquor up. But since martial law was declared it has been hard to hear much of anything. Only thing I was able to dig up on the _Alexander_ before we left on the _Aegean_ was they were reported heading to Babylon 5"

"Well now," said Robert with a sigh as he leaned back in his armchair. "That's interesting. Hague was smart enough to keep his little resistance compartmentalized, but I still had enough connections in Earthforce to have an idea who he had on his side. I would not have thought John Sheridan would take up arms against Clark."

"Do you know him?" asked William.

"Sheridan? I meet him once. My overall impression was the man was an overgrown boy scout," reflected Robert.

To Jessica, the professor asked, "What of Babylon 5? News has been extremely limited since ISN went off the air."

"Not much," she admitted. "There were rumors a strike force was being sent to the station to seize control. But I have no idea what happened."

Robert let out a sigh of frustration. His plans were already in free fall. The _Valiant_ was going to need more work before the ship was actually operational. And they would need an additional crew to run the ship. But if he could manage that, Robert could take on anything Clark threw at him. If the ship's primary gun was functional, he could quickly turn all of Earthdome into a massive crater. So the question became which path was going to get the _Valiant_ up and running? Go for the Orion colonies or try for Babylon 5?

Even though Robert had not asked, Professor Stone was quick to offered his advice. "I suggest we head for Babylon station. It's our best chance to reconnect with General Hague's resistance."

"You're a little too transparent, William," said Robert dryly. "You're just want to have the chance to run after your pet theories about the _Valiant_ 's builders."

"It's in our best interest to do so," defended the professor. "You want to get the ship fully functional, learning about who built her and why could become essential."

Robert's face still shadowed doubt. William leaned forward in his seat, his tone growing soft. "I know you are not a fan of the Babylon project. You think the station is a waste of time."

"It is a waste of time," confirmed Robert. "And an expensive boondoggle."

The sheer cost of building four stations before the fifth one was finally opened made even the cost of salvaging the _Valiant_ look like pocket change. True, the Minbari Federation had helped pay for the construction on the fifth station. But as far as Robert Taggart was concerned it was only the beginning of what the Minbari owed humanity. He felt his right leg ache. The old war wound was a constant reminder of much he hated those pointy head bastards. If they went to Babylon 5, he would likely have to deal with the wretched alien race.

With a little effort, he pushed himself out of his chair and crossed his room to the porthole. The constantly churning ruddy colors of hyperspace flickered on his face. Perhaps, considered Robert, it was past time that he did. Their warrior caste had taken so much from him. With the _Valiant_ at his command there was the possibility of some retribution.

He touched his comlink. When it beeped, he said, "Sergeant Wilson, we're making a course change."

There was a brief pause and then the Sergeant replied, "Umm...yes, sir. Where are we heading?"

"Babylon 5"


	4. A Day Late And A Dollar Short

**April 22nd, 2260 07:54**

**Babylon 5 C &C**

Stepping off the lift Commander Susan Ivanova entered into Babylon 5's bustling Command and Control. The morning shift change was in full swing. The night crew busy with closing out their work as they handed off their duties to the incoming day shift staff. A light laughter came from some of the communication team as they took their positions. Someone was retelling a joke from the latest Rebo and Zooty show. Conversations floated by about meeting up at Earhart's after the shift was over.

Ivanova strode across the C&C deck, noting attitudes as people settled into their stations. After the chaos of the last few weeks, there was finally a scene of normalcy returning to the crew. She suspected the mood did not run particularly deep. The amount of uncertainty about Babylon 5's newly won independence, the military crackdown back on Earth, hell the state of the whole damn galaxy could be soul crushing if you let it. Under their laughter, worry and concern still lingered.

Coming up to Lieutenant Bedford, the night shift's senior watch officer, she asked, "Anything to report?"

"No, Ma'am," stated Bedford briskly. "Light traffic in and out of the gate. Everything else has been quiet."

"Excellent," said Ivanova. Raising her voice for the benefit for the rest of the crew, she added, "I think we can all do with a little peace and quiet around here. Good job everyone."

Bedford nodded eagerly, as did several other of the C&C staff members. Everyone wanted to get back into the swing of things. A little bit of encouragement could go a long way. And even if it did not, some superficial happiness was better than nothing.

Satisfied with her little morale boost, Ivanova settled into the routine of overseeing Babylon 5's day schedule. She was only a few minutes into her work when the polite clearing of someone's throat brought her attention from the report on oxygen levels in Grey Sector. Lieutenant David Corwin stood before her.

She took a moment to study him. Even after all they had been through, he still held that rare look of young innocence. She had not been certain where his loyalty had laid before their break away from the Earth Alliance. But he had not abandoned the Captain when Sheridan had declared their independence. That counted a lot in Ivanova's book.

Giving him a courteous nod, she asked, "Can I help you, Lieutenant?"

"Well…" began Corwin. "…I was wondering how exactly we are supposed to coordinate with the…" He stopped and with a gesture to the C&C's observation bubble indicated the visible edge of the large fin-like structure of the nearest Minbari warship.

Ivanova breathed out a little sigh. Truth be told, they had not exactly worked out how the Minbari fleet guarding the station operated. They were to defend Babylon 5, but who determined what was a threat or was not. Would they take orders from the C&C? If not, did they report to Delenn? Since their last minute save of the station from Clark's forces the Minbari had not been much in the way of communication with the Babylon 5's operations center.

"It's something I plan to talk with Captain Sheridan," said Ivanova. "So far the Minbari have stayed out of the way. But I think it's in everyone's interest we set up a clear set of rules for handling the defense of the station."

Corwin bobbed his head in ready agreement. But a distressed look remained on his young face. "Since we got the last of the Nightwatch off the station it's been almost…peaceful around here."

Ivanova raised an eyebrow. "Waiting for the other shoe to drop, Lieutenant?"

"It feels odd if no one is shooting at us, or taking hostages, or threating to blow up the station," admitted Corwin.

Genuine laughter bubbled up from Ivanova. "David, you could almost be a Russian with that kind of attitude."

Briefly, an embarrassed smile managed its way on onto Corwin's face. But it was interrupted by a signaled alert on his console. Dutifully he redirected his attention to the incoming information. From where Susan stood, she could see the sudden tension pass through his body.

Swiftly she asked, "What is it?"

"An unscheduled jump point just opened up." Corwin's eyes scanned over his monitor, his eyes narrowed. "At twenty degrees by eighty-five, twenty thousand kilometers out."

By itself, an unannounced jump into the region around Babylon 5 was not a cause for alarm. With the station an open port of trade and commerce, there was a steady flow of ships coming and going, and not all of it was scheduled. But the coordinates Corwin had read off put the new arrival quite outside normal traffic. The jump point had open high above in relation to the station and at a distance to put it well outside the station's defensive grid. It was a textbook maneuver if someone wanted to get the lay of the land or probe their defenses.

"Identity of our mystery guest?" asked Ivanova.

Corwin's frown deepened. With a slow shake of his head, he answered, "No transponder signal and sensors are not getting back much from our scans."

Now it Ivanova's turn to frown. "Get me a visual," she ordered.

A few seconds later the monitor closest to her blinked over to an external camera feed. The image was momentarily blurry as the camera zoomed on its target. When the picture cleared, she saw a ship unlike any she had seen before. Her first thought was of a giant quartz crystal. Oblong rectangular spikes protruded at odd angles from each other. The longest of these jutted out into a sharp edge, like a knife blade. It was colored a dark sea blue, a shade darker than the nearby Minbari ships. Other colors edged many of the protrusions. Hues of greens and purples were prevalent, except one thin long spike was colored like a ruby.

"It's…beautiful," said Corwin as he studied the image on the screen.

It was, thought Susan. But there was something about this strange object that made her uneasy. As she examined closer, she saw the array of crystalline structures was not random. There was a symmetry to the structure. The biggest crystal, the sharp edged one, was at the very center. All the other spires grew outward from its tail end. It was not some creation of nature, there was order and intention behind its design. And apparently it had opened up its own jump point. Bizarre as it was, this thing was a spaceship.

"Do we have anything in the data banks?" question Ivanova.

"No, ma'am," replied Corwin after a few seconds. "Nothing matching it."

"We've got motion," said one the nearby techs. "It's approaching the station, but slowly. Less than three kilometers a second."

Corwin was reviewing sensor logs. Without looking up, he said, "This may be a first contact situation." He stopped his review of the data and asked pointedly, "Do we follow communication protocols?"

Ever since the disastrous first contact with the Minbari, Earthforce had put in very strict rules when communicating with a new alien race. But they were not exactly Earthforce anymore. Still, with all the complexities and difficulties that came along with such an encounter it was not wise to throw the book away.

"Do it," she ordered. "Open with the universal welcome greetings." Ivanova then initiated a com link with an irritated tap of her finger. Here she thought her day was going to be an easy one.

"Captain Sheridan to the C&C. We've got a situation."

The Captain's voice echoed back a few seconds later. "This is Sheridan, what's up?"

"An unknown vessel just jumped into the neighborhood. No record of anything like it. It's heading toward us, but not in a big hurry."

"Any communication from the bogie?"

Ivanova glanced to Corwin, who silently shook his head. "Nothing, sir. No response to our hails. And our sensors aren't getting much. We can't tell if the ship is crewed, unmanned, or even if it's got any weapons."

"On my way," replied Sheridan. "See if you can get a hold of Fleet Captain Lennan. The Minbari ships may be able to see something we can't." The captain paused for a second and added, "Hell, they may know who our new guests are."

Sheridan cut the link. Ivanova was just about to request an open channel to the Lennan's capital ship with the com specialist when the woman beat her to the punch. "Commander," she said in apparent confusion, "The Minbari say their sensors aren't penetrating the ship. They're asking us if _we_ recognize it."

Even the Minbari with their superior technology were coming up short. Whoever or whatever was on that ship, considered Susan, apparently did not want anyone knowing what they could do. However, there was one ship in the area whose instruments would be even better than the Minbari warships. Inwardly she sighed, she really did not want to talk to him right now. But circumstances demanded it.

Putting a call through, she kept the channel to her workstation. Marcus Cole's smiling face appeared a moment later.

"Susan, so nice of you to call," he said gamely from the bridge of the _White Star._

"Marcus…" she began with an edge to her voice.

The Ranger held his hands in a friendly show of pleading. "I know, I know. Just got off from speaking with the good Captain Lennan. The _White Star_ is closing on the vessel. I'm your eager beaver to find out about our newest arrival."

"Eager Beaver?" she asked with a roll of her eyes.

Before Marcus could make his reply, Corwin called out, "Commander, the unknown ship has increased speed. Up to twenty-five miles a second. They're now on a direct intercept course with us."

Ivanova felt her jaw tighten in growing tension. This was becoming more worrying by the second. She considered her options and then turned to Ensign Thompson, standing office for the Babylon 5's Strategic Forces. "Scramble Alpha Squadron. I want some firepower ready to go if we need it."

The man nodded curtly and began preparing the Starfury unit for launch. Focusing back to her console she studied the routine traffic of freighters and passenger ships near the station. They would need to get out of the way. She was running through course corrections when Marcus's voice filtered across the comlink.

"Susan."

"Just a second," she answered impatiently.

"Susan!"

An unmistakable urgency and authority filled the ranger's voice. Ivanova refocused on the video link to the _White Star_. All Marcus's earlier humor had vanished.

"The _White Star_ 's scanners are able to penetrate that ship's hull," stated Marcus grimly. "They've got a targeting lock on all three Minbari ships. And their energy output just jumped. A lot. They're powering up something very mean looking."

Ivanova's eyes tracked back to the mysterious - and increasingly hostile - alien ship. She saw it right away. The single red crystal spire, the long and thin one jutting from just below the main crystalline body, was beginning to glow.

* * *

**April 22nd, 2260 08:02**

**Bridge of the EAS Valiant**

"Weapon system locked on," reported Ensign Mashibe. His voice tight with stress as he operated the _Valiant_ 's weapons system. "Power cores on all three Minbari vessels are targeted."

"Professor," queried General Robert Taggart, "How soon to the primary gun is fully charged?"

Hunched over his console, Professor William Stone's reproachful response came after a few long moments. "Ninety seconds to full charge. We can be at an optimum level at just over a minute." There was a pause, and he added, "Or we could simply power it down and not act like complete idiots."

"Noted," replied Taggart evenly, remarkably calm at Stone's insubordination.

On the wide dome of the _Valiant_ 's view screen, Taggart could see the blue and gray structure of Babylon 5 rapidly growing in size as they approached. Arrayed around the station in a rough triangle formation were three Minbari war cruisers. There was an incredible grace to the alien ships. They looked not so much like something that was built but grown. It had been a long time since he had last seen one in person.

His hand holding his cane ached. Taggart realized he was squeezing the ornate handle far too tightly. He forced his clenched muscles to relax. When they had jumped back into real space, just on the very fringe of the Lagrange point where Babylon 5 orbited above Epsilon III, Taggart had thought they were prepared for anything. From the optimistic, where the station was free and open, and Hague's allies were assembled to greet them. To the pessimistic, with Clark's forces in control and Babylon 5 was in ruins. What he had not expected to find was the Minbari.

"Mr. Mashibe, what do have on that fourth ship? Is it Minbari also?"

Taggart watched as the smaller craft approached. It did not look like anything he had seen before. Fast and maneuverable, it had closed on the _Valiant_ while the three larger Minbari ships stayed back. With its swept-back curves of it reminded him of a bird in flight. The design made the ship look fragile, yet Taggart suspected it was far from it.

"Matches no known configuration," answered Mashibe after a few seconds. Uncertainty quickly followed as he continued to study the collection of data coming from the _Valiant'_ s sensors. "The hull of that ship doesn't look like anything I've ever seen."

"Target it as well," commanded Taggart. Best to not take any chances.

Beyond the constant sound of the _Valiant_ 's crew and the usual hum of the ship itself a rising noise had been gradually building. Now it reached a higher octave and began to pulse in a heighten rhythm. The air had become electric, and Taggart was positive he caught a whiff of ozone in the air. Others on the bridge could feel it at as well. The _Valiant_ was ready to fire.

Over the rising noise, he heard Mashibe swear, "Damn it!"

"What the problem?" demanded Taggart.

"It's that smaller ship," replied Mashibe with a confounded scowl. "I can't target it."

Taggart crossed the bridge to the Ensign's position, leaning on his cane as he went. "Are they jamming us?"

"I…don't think…so," said Mashibe slowly as he struggled to articulate the problem. "It's not that I can't get a lock. It's that every time I do the targeting information get erased."

"Erased? By who? Are you're doing it right?"

"Yes, sir! I'm sure I've entered the correct coordinates. But every time I do, the data is gone in seconds." He stopped and then stammered out the rest. "It's like the…err… _Valiant_ doesn't…want to!"

The ominous rumble of the ship's primary gun was the only sound to be heard as everyone on the bridge turned to stare at Mashibe. The Ensign's dark skin hid any sign of embarrassment, but his eyes were downcast, riveted to his console. Taggart watched as the man correctly entered the vector and velocity of the unknown ship. And just like Mashibe claimed, seconds later the information vanished from his screen.

Leaning heavily on his cane, Taggart felt his bad leg throb in pain. A sigh, which came out much more like a hiss, escaped him. This always happened when his anger started getting the better of him. The old war wound acting up.

"Professor Stone," said Taggart, trying to keep the weariness out of his voice. "Would you come here."

The thickset man joined him at Mashibe's post. The professor watched as the Ensign once again targeted the small ship. And just like before, the tracking data disappeared. Finally giving up, Mashibe gave both his commander and the _Valiant'_ s defacto Science Officer a helpless shrug.

"Thoughts?" queried Taggart.

Stone's face had remained impassive as he observed. Then he rubbed his chin with his thumb, an action Taggart had come to associate with the man being deep in thought. "I don't know," he said eventually. "It could be any number of things. A software bug in the console, a flaw in the data converters, or something in the ship's distributed processors."

"You mean there's a chance the _Valiant_ doesn't want to target that alien ship? It had no problem with the Minbari."

"There are exabytes of data in _Valiant_ 's computer systems that we've yet to decode. The ship has subsystems I still have no clue what they do. So yes, it's entirely possible," and the professor pointed at the purple and silver mottled alien ship displayed on the domed screen, "the _Valiant_ recognizes that vessel and identifies it as a friend."

Another irritated sigh escaped Taggart as he mulled over the professor's explanation. Stone leaned in close and asked in whispered, "Robert, what are we doing? What are you hoping to accomplish by firing on those ships?"

"I did not say we're firing on anything," snapped back Taggart in an angry hiss. "I ordered the _Valiant'_ s primary weapon online and to target three ships of a known enemy."

"The Minbari are not…" began Stone and then stopped as Taggart's face flushed with a barely controlled rage. "I understand how you feel about them," he amended quickly. "But we don't know what's going on here. We should try talking before we point a gun."

"I am being prudent in an unknown and possibly hostile engagement. We have to be prepared to meet force with force." Taggart's voice rose as he spoke, losing what little patience he had left. "Until I'm satisfied we're not in danger, I will keep this ship at a combat status. And I would appreciate it if you would leave the military tactics to me!"

"Fine," replied Stone flatly as he stepped away from Taggart. "I'll keep out of your war mongering. But do allow me to remind you, the work Connor and I have done can get you one, maybe two, shots from the _Valiant_ 's quantum cannon. But we'll blow out half the power relays on the ship. Then we'll be dead in the water and open to counter attack from that fourth ship."

Taggart agitatedly thumped his cane against the ridged chrome floor of the bridge and stomped away. Throughout his career, he had dealt with a number of scientifically brilliant individuals who were also extremely difficult to work with. William Stone was likely the biggest pain in the ass he had ever meet. It also annoyed him to no end that Stone was right. They did not know enough about what was happening here.

Crossing over to the communication station, Taggart planned to take the opportunity to sit down next to Lieutenant Jessica Monroe. Taking some of the weight off his aching leg. At his approach, she glanced up and gave him an irritated scowl. Acting as the _Valiant'_ s communication officer was a little outside Jessica's usual duties as a security officer. She was managing as best she could.

"All Babylon 5 keeps sending me is a bunch of gibberish. What the hell are they playing at?"

Over her shoulder, Taggart studied the steady stream of scrolling text coming from the station. It was a series of numeric symbols followed by simple pictograms. It took him a moment to realize what he was looking at. Shaking his head, he let out a laugh. "They're sending us a universal greeting code. They think we're some unknown alien race."

"But we're not..." and then Monroe stopped herself. "Of course," she went on with a sigh. "We certainly don't look the part of a typical Earth Alliance ship."

"True," replied Taggart as he sat down. "I think it's about time we cleared up some of the confusion around here."

* * *

**April 22nd, 2260 08:05**

**Babylon 5 C &C**

"The _White Star_ 's sensors are picking up tachyon beams emitted from the alien ship. One pointed at each Minbari cruiser," said Marcus as he explained the mystery craft's ability to target the Minbari ships without their knowledge.

"They're not attempting a tight beam communication link?" asked Ivanova.

The Ranger shook his head. "Even the _White Star_ instruments had work to detect theses beams. There at such a high frequency no communication gear could ever receive a message. The tachyons are being used almost exactly like laser targeting system."

Corwin, who was listening to their conversation, spoke up. "Since the tachyons move faster than the speed of light, any optical sensors will miss the beam. That's clever, but it would also mean a lot of energy has to go into powering their targeting system."

Watching the approaching alien ship, Ivanova saw bolts of energy were now arching around the single red spire. "I think," she said, "they've got plenty of power." Then to Marcus, she asked, "But they're not targeting you or the station?"

"No, nothing," replied Marcus. "That's what doesn't make any sense. If you're going to attack, why aim at only half your enemies?"

Ivanova had no immediate answer. She instead had to turn her attention away from her comlink with Marcus when Captain Sheridan stepped out of the lift. "Status?" he requested as he quickly covered the distance to her post.

"The alien ship is still in approach, moving now at thirty klicks a second. They've targeted the three Minbari cruisers with an enhanced tachyon beam." Indicating the glowing red spire on the incoming vessel on her workstation screen. "And they've charged up some type of weapon."

Sheridan rapidly took in the tactical situation. His eyes scanning over different monitors and readouts. He finally focused on the rectangular video window of her comlink to the _White Star_. "Marcus, how soon will you be in weapons range of that ship?"

"Less than a minute," answered Marcus.

"Captain," said one of the Com Techs. "Fleet Captain Lennan is demanding to speak with you. We want to know if his forces are to engage the alien ship."

Marcus, with his expression still grim, added, "Lennan can't be happy about his ships being targeted. Do we engage?"

"They haven't fired yet," replied Sheridan with a firm shake of his head. "We're not starting anything until we understand what they want."

With a startled cry, Corwin suddenly exclaimed, "I don't believe it!"

Startled by his outburst, Sheridan twisted to face the young lieutenant. "Mr. Corwin?"

Ivanova thought the man's eyes were so large they were about ready to burst out of their sockets. "I'm now getting an Earthforce transponder code off that ship."

"What!?" demanded Sheridan.

"Confirmed," said an equally surprised Ivanova as she studied the latest information. "IFF signal checks out as an Earthforce designation. Identity – EAS Valiant."

Following on the heels of her revelation came another as the Comm Techs spoke up. "We're getting a broadcast from the…umm… _Valiant._ "

Sheridan and Ivanova traded looks. The Captain shook his head is slow disbelief. "I've got to hear this. On screen."

One of the larger monitors on the wall directly across from Ivanova changed from displaying the station's combat status to show the incoming communication. The video blink black for a second and then resolved into revealing a silver-haired man in an Earthforce uniform. Out of habit, Ivanova's eyes went to the insignia on his shoulder denoting his rank. A General. Not one she readily recognized, but there was something familiar about him.

The unknown General began speaking. "This is General Robert Taggart of the _EAS Valiant_. To the nonhuman ships surrounding Babylon 5, stand down immediately or be destroyed. To Babylon 5 C &C, if any of your command staff are still alive, I need to speak with them at once. We can assist in your defense."

Ivanova blinked in confusion. This General Taggart was threatening the Minbari but in the same breath was offering protection to the station. Did he think Babylon 5 was under attack?

The Captain appeared to have the same thought when he replied, "General Taggart, this is Captain John Sheridan of Babylon 5. Please be advised the Minbari are currently defending this station on our behalf."

Taggart's steely-eyed expression did not change, but his response was colder than the vacuum of space. "Is that a fact?"

"Yes, it is," declared Sheridan. "I would appreciate it if did not target their ships."

A mild surprise came to Taggart's face at Sheridan's mentioning the _Valiant_ 's weapons lock. He looked off screen for a moment and then refocused. "That fourth ship, the small one. That Minbari as well?"

Ivanova noticed Taggart stressed the word Minbari as if he had just been stabbed. A memory flickered in the back of her mind. She knew this Robert Taggart from somewhere.

"It is. But there are humans on board."

"Well then, Sheridan," said General Taggart with a note of contempt. "Call off your Minbari dogs, and we'll stand down our weapons."

There were more than few uncomfortable glances in the C&C at the Taggart's slur. The Captain's voice tightened as he responded. "With all due respect…General, what are your intentions here? We sent the last group of Earthforce ships packing when they showed up to take control of the station."

On his side of the video link, Taggart leaned in close to the camera. His face took up a significant portion of the screen. His contempt was replaced with a stern warning. "Do not confuse me with one of Clark's cronies. My crew and I have risked everything to get the _Valiant_ away from our criminal President. My only intentions are to overthrow that son-of-a-bitch."

Striking a conciliatory tone, Sheridan attempted to defuse the rising tension. "I see. Well, General Taggart, Babylon 5 is still an open port. You and your people would be welcome if there are no hostilities towards… _anyone_." The Captain stressed the last word but kept his tone mild as he continued, "Your vessel, General… the _Valiant_? Interesting ship you have there. You're coming in a bit fast. I believe C &C can give you proper flight path."

General Taggart almost smiled. "Very cordial of you, Captain Sheridan." He leaned back in his chair. As he folded his hands, he asked, "Does General Hague know about your arrangements with the Minbari?"

There was a potent pause, and Sheridan finally said, "General Hague is dead. He was killed in action against the _Clarkstown._ "

Taggart's unfriendly expression broke. Genuine shock pulled on his features. He slumped in his chair. "Damn," he said in a near whisper. After a few moments, Taggart looked up and addressed the Captain. "Sheridan, you and I need to talk…privately." Then the screen faded out as the _Valiant_ cut the transmission.

Sheridan remained standing still, staring at the black view screen. He gave a faint shake of his head and muttered, "Great…Just Great."

Ivanova had watched their terse exchange all the while trying to remember where she had seen General Taggart before. Finally, she dredged up the memory. It was from years ago when she had just transferred to Io Station. She and some of her colleges had been at the local Earthforce bar. An ISN news story had been playing on one of the monitors in the background. Ivanova had not really paid attention until one of the men in their group had turned from the video broadcast and said in disgust, "God what a drunk. He's a disgrace to the uniform."

She had looked and saw an older man in a rather rumbled full military dress uniform, red-faced, and shouting on the screen. But with the sound turned down she could not tell what he was screaming about. "Ah, give him a break," said someone else. "All he's saying is we shouldn't trust the bonies."

When she asked who he was, she was told - "Why that's General Robert Taggart." And a mocking title soon followed, "Hero of Flinn Colony."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the interest in this story. Questions were asked about how Valor of the Suns will play out in the B5 storyline. The answer is - it won't. I'm aiming to keep in canon as much as possible. So I won't be writing a chapter where Sheridan and Taggart team up on Za'ha'dum to fight the Shadow while Neroon commands the Valiant to destroy a fleet of Shadow ships. It's a big galaxy and there are plenty of stuff for Taggart and company to do without getting into the established story line. But there are events that are referenced to and happen off screen in the TV show that the Valiant will be a part of.
> 
> Next chapter we learn a lot more about Taggart and why he hates the Minbari so much.
> 
> -Walker.


	5. What's Past is Prologue

**April 22** **nd** **, 2260 11:35**

**Babylon 5 Docking Bay 18**

* * *

"At least their codes check out."

Michael Garibaldi said this while he, Captain John Sheridan, and Commander Susan Ivanova waited for the _Valiant_ 's only shuttle to arrive. After the tense arrival of the General Taggart's bizarre warship, there had been only further strained communications between Sheridan and the General. Taggart wanted Sheridan to come aboard the _Valiant_. The Captain had politely declined and invited Taggart and his crew to shore leave on Babylon 5. The General promptly replied he and his crew did not have time to waste on Sheridan's pointless space station. Their dispute had not been helped by Taggart bluntly telling the Minbari cruiser _Takari_ to get the hell out of the _Valiant_ 's way when Sheridan finally convinced the General to meet him here.

To say the morning had been stressful for the Captain was a massive understatement. Garibaldi could see it in the man's posture and the tight set of his jaw.

Ivanova shook her head. "That's not saying much. Hague's rebellion has more or less collapsed. Who know how many of his people have been captured and interrogated for information. Those codes aren't proof Taggart was working with General Hague."

Garibaldi made a casual shrug. "Not saying it is. I'm more than paranoid enough to see this as a potential trap. Clark can't hit us directly, so he sends in supposed allies to stab us in the back. And I would have run with that idea if it wasn't for that ship of his _._ "

"So do believe the General's story about finding the derelict alien ship and spending the last three years repairing and retrofitting it to become the _Valiant_?" asked Ivanova. Skepticism clearly clouded her face.

"I don't know. It's not impossible. We all know EarthGov has been after any alien tech to give them an advantage. But that not my point. If you're going to run a con like this, you keep it simple. You would use a regular Earthforce ship. Maybe make it look like it had been shot up while running from unfriendly forces. What you wouldn't do is throw in something in that looks like a giant blue snowflake. That just raises questions about your story."

"True," conceded Ivanova. "But I do not see Robert Taggart as one to take up the fight against Clark's regime. If anything, I'd think he'd be right in line with Clark's Earth First policy."

"Meh," replied Garibaldi with a frown. "Taggart was never one to fit anyone's particular ideology. He disdained anything political."

Sheridan, who had been sullenly quiet while his two trusted subordinates debated, finally spoke up. "Taggart is the wild card in all this. Even if was working with General Hague, it doesn't mean he's going to be on our side. He could be just as big of a threat as Clark."

The loud hum of incoming transport platforms lowering from the station's central axis began to grow, signaling the arrival of the _Valiant_ 's shuttle. A strong vibration was felt through the deck plates as the platform, with the attached shuttle settled into the docking bay. Unlike the strange structure of the _Valiant,_ the shuttle was a standard Kestrel Class design.

As the docking bay came alive as clamps were retracted the shuttle and seals were put into place, Sheridan turned to Garibaldi. "Michael, I'm going to need to confirm the General's story about the _Valiant._ I need to know if he's being straight with us."

Garibaldi felt his eyebrows raise. "Confirm a top secret research project? That would be a helluva tall order when we were in Earthforce. Now it's going to be damn near impossible."

"I know," said John with a rueful smile. "But I'm not expecting the blueprints to the _Valiant_. Just something that gives me proof of Taggart's story."

"Sure, no problem," replied Garibaldi wryly. "I'll do that. While I'm at it, is there anything else you want me to find? Lock Ness Monster? Montezuma's gold?"

Both Sheridan and Ivanova gave him a reproachful look at his glib questions, but any further comments were cut off as a recurring sound began echoing around the docking bay.

Tap. Tap.

It was soon followed by new voices. A man's and woman's. Two figures were coming around from the far side of the shuttle. Both were dressed in Earthforce uniforms. The man was tall, with mostly gray hair. He leaned on a cane, the source of the rhythmical tapping. This must be the General's infamous war-wound thought, Garibaldi. He moved slower than the woman. She was a good deal younger, with blondish hair cut very short.

As they drew closer, their conversation began to resolve. "Yes, yes," said the General. "It's all very impressive. I've never doubted the technical aspects of this place, just its purpose."

The woman looked like she was going to say more, but then she caught sight of Commander Ivanova. Surprise lit up her face. "Susan? Susan Ivanova?"

"Jessica Monroe?" said an equally startled Ivanova. "It's been…a while."

"Haven't seen you since we were hunting those pirates in the Orion system." Monroe cocked her head to one side, and asked with a vicious grin, "Did you ever catch those bastards?"

"We did, it took a while. Found the pirates were using a small asteroid as their base of operations," answered Ivanova. Seeing she had suddenly become the center of attention for everyone at this impromptu reunion, Susan clarified, "Jessica and I were stationed together on Orion VI several years back. We piloted starfuries hunting after pirates and smugglers."

"The fighting 66th," supplied Jessica.

"It's a small universe," said Robert Taggart evenly as came to a stop beside Monroe. He eyed his companion wordlessly, and she immediately straightened.

"Sorry, sir. Just was surprised at seeing a friendly face."

"Indeed," nodded the General. He too straightened, and he and Monroe saluted the three Babylon 5 officers. There was just the slightest of pauses, and then Sheridan, followed by Ivanova and Garibaldi returned the salute.

Lowering his hand, Taggart requested, "Captain Sheridan, permission to come aboard."

"Granted," offered the Captain. With a slight nod of his head, Sheridan introduced Ivanova as his second in command and Garibaldi as the station's security chief. Then giving a quick glance around the docking bay and seeing there was no one else departing the shuttle, Sheridan added, "This is all of your crew?"

"Lieutenant Monroe is my acting XO. For right now it's just the two of us. I'd like to get a few things settled between you and me, Sheridan. After that, we'll see about getting more of the _Valiant_ 's crew come over."

Garibaldi made a not so subtle glance was between Ivanova and himself, but Sheridan took it in stride. "Of course," he said gamely as he gestured towards the docking bay exit. "We can talk at length in my office." Sheridan hesitated and then added, "If that's alright with you, sir?"

"Well, it's your home turf, and we're the party crashers," replied Taggart with a half-smile. "I leave it to your discretion, Captain."

They moved at slowed pace, to allow the General to keep up. Crossing out of the docking bay and making their way into the loading docks the small procession proceeded in an awkward silence that was only broken up by the sound of the tip of the Taggart's cane on the deck. Garibaldi could feel the uncertainty from both sides still hung heavy in the air.

It was the Sheridan who broke the tension, although to Garibaldi it was done rather strangely. The Captain was stridently staring at Taggart's cane. The General caught Sheridan's scrutiny with his walking stick. He cocked an eyebrow and asked, "Have a problem with my cane?"

"Umm…no," said Sheridan with a touch embarrassment. "Just thinking I had seen one like it before, not that long ago."

"Really?" said Taggart in surprise. He looked down at the curved handle on top of the wooden staff. "They aren't too common. Most people would just get an artificial replacement for their leg. My condition prevents that. There were other options, but I felt like being a little…old fashion. Who had one?"

Shaking his head, the Captain replied, "You really wouldn't believe me."

Taggart frowned at John's odd answer. But Garibaldi could see the ice had begun to crack. Looking around at the interior of the station, the General remarked, "Babylon 5 looks in good order, Captain. It didn't suffer too much damage when expelling Clark's forces?"

"We took some hits, had to beat back a breaching pod full of marines, and lost some starfuries. But we're managing. The _Alexander_ took damage, but were able to make repairs." Sheridan's voice lowered in sorrow, "The _Churchill_ wasn't so lucky."

Taggart let out an irritated sigh. "We should have been here. We could have helped. The _Valiant_ could have made a real difference." Garibaldi could hear the genuine regret in the General's words.

"Your ship, it's got a gravimetric drive, doesn't it?" questioned Ivanova.

"It does," confirmed Monroe. "Susan, it amazing. We can move at such speeds, but it feels like your standing still."

Ivanova hesitated and then said, "I've…umm…experienced it on the _Whitestar_."

Taggart and Monroe traded a look but did not comment. The General moved on. "Most of the reason we've been sidelined was that we were getting the drive operational. For the last month, my crew has been working around the clock to get the _Valiant_ running. Unfortunately, Clark moved faster than any of us were ready."

They made their way into the station's central Immigration and Passenger lounge. Here the continual flow of visitors, both Human and alien, were arriving and departing. For those unaccustomed to seeing such sights, it was an eye-opening experience. Garibaldi cracked a small smile as he saw their guest's eyes widen in surprise.

"Wow," said Monroe as took in a row Brakiri businessmen waiting to be processed for entry into the station, while a Gaim drone in its environment suit scuttled pass them.

"It does a take a little bit to get used to," said Ivanova.

Taggart focused on the security personnel. A mix of both Human and Narns. He turned to Garibaldi and Sheridan. "Interesting security staff you're employing," he said as he eyed one of the Narns dressed in a Babylon 5 security uniform.

"We had to," explained Sheridan. "We had substantial infiltration of Nightwatch into our security personnel."

"Ah," said Taggart in understanding. "Interesting solution you put together. How is it working out?"

Garibaldi was about to say that the inclusion of the Narns had gone well. Surprisingly being able to process even the Centauri through without incident. But then he caught sight of three Narns off to one side who were clearly in the middle of some sort of dice game. Taggart saw this as well and stood silently, waiting to see how he would react.

"It's a work in progress," grumbled Garibaldi. "If you'll excuse me."

Taking his leave of the Captain and the General. Garibaldi marched over to the three Narns playing their game. They were huddled around each other and so engrossed with their sport, they did notice him until he was right behind them.

Throwing all the authority he could into words, Garibaldi shot them out like bullets from a gun. "What. Are. You. Doing?"

They all flinched under his tirade. As he took a closer look, he saw the security uniforms were too big and baggy for these Narns. With a start of surprise, he realized with they were all young. Probably the equivalent of Human teenagers. G'Kar had screened all the Narn recruits himself. Garibaldi did not think it was likely he had selected these 'kids' for security officers.

"Where did you get those uniforms?"

The Narn who looked to be oldest of the three, glanced at the others and then said, "We found…them?"

With growing amusement, Garibaldi shook his head. "Sure you did."

"We…just wanted to help…like G'Kar said too," stated one of the other Narns.

"Right, and shake down some people coming through here," said Garibaldi as he ran his finger around in a circle to indicate the constant flow of visitors.

The third Narn turned on the others. "Na,Treth you said we could do that if we didn't take too much," he said reproachfully to the oldest.

"Com'on," sighed Garibaldi as he led the three security impostures out of the area. By the time he had gotten them out the uniforms, contacted G'Kar, and wait for the very unhappy Narn to come to collect the wayward youths, Taggart and the others were long gone.

It was just as well. Garibaldi had a mission to confirm Taggart story. Trying to question the General was not going to get him anywhere. His interruption by the Narns was a convenient way to for him to break away and start tracking down some clues. He was on his way back to his office, pondering on how he would handle the latest impossible task when the gentle voice of Ambassador Delenn came from behind him.

"Mr. Garibaldi, do you have a moment?"

Turning around, Garibaldi found Delenn with her aide Lennier coming down the station corridor. The ambassador was in her usual purple and maroon robes. They swished around her as she closed the distance. He could see she still moved with a hint of stiffness from the knife wound she received from the Nightwatch terrorist. And Lennier, as always, was dutifully following right behind her.

"Umm…yes," he answered. "What can I help you with Ambassador?"

Delenn paused for a moment, seemingly collecting her thoughts. "I was hoping to talk to the Captain about this General Taggart. His arrival has been most…disruptive."

"Uh, yeah, that's an understatement, agreed Garibaldi. "But Sheridan is talking with Taggart right now. Trying to smooth things out."

"So I understand," said Delenn. "I have been speaking with Fleet Captain Lennan. He is not happy with Taggart's ship or the General's behavior."

Lennier now spoke up. "Apparently this General Taggart is familiar with Minbari curses. He used them quite liberally when addressing Lennan."

Garibaldi lightly groaned. Evidently, the General had been in communication with the Minbari Fleet just as much as he had with Sheridan. But he was not surprised, Taggart would likely not pass up the opportunity to needle the Minbari. He could understand Lennan frustration. The Minbari Captain's fleet had come in the nick of time to save Babylon 5 from Clark's forces. And for his troubles, he been kidnapped by Nightwatch, had his aide killed by the same terrorists, and now had his ships threatened by an Earthforce General with a serious chip on his shoulder.

Delenn nodded at Lennier's comment. "As you can imagine, this situation is very tense. Lennan is committed to the station defense. But Taggart claims he is your ally. That he and his people are part of your resistant movement. I don't want to want to complicate or rebuff your people who seek refuge from your President's forces. But we cannot allow our own citizens to be threatened."

It would not be an average day on Babylon 5 if there were not some type of a diplomatic headache threatening to blow up into outright disaster, considered Garibaldi. Not that he had much personal experience in playing peacemaker. Striking as much of a conciliatory tone as he could manage, he said, "Well…that's I'm working on. Trying to confirm Taggart's claims and make sure he's on the up and up. And…hopefully once the Captain can explain how you saved our bacon the General will be more accommodating."

Delenn still looked troubled, but it was Lennier who frowned and asked, "Saved…our…bacon?"

"Sorry, um, it's a turn of a phrase. Means saved our lives."

Moving past his flub with the idiom, Delenn said, "I would like to know more about the General. Who is he? I have not heard of him before. He obviously is unhappy with our ships' presence."

A sigh worked its way out of Garibaldi. She would have to ask that question. "Perhaps it would be better if you talked the Captain about it," he deflected.

Delenn shook her head firmly. She was not going to give up on this. Eyeing him carefully, she said, "I will speak with John. But you do know Taggart, don't you? If he carries animosity towards us from the war, I need to know."

"He does," replied Garibaldi quietly. "In fact, I doubt you'd find any Human alive or dead that didn't harbor as much outright resentment as Robert Taggart does to the Minbari."

"Why? What happened to him?"

Still trying to tiptoe diplomatically, Garibaldi offered a weak objection. "It's not…good."

"Please," said Delenn. "I…know it's not pleasant to talk about our war. But if I understand his issues, perhaps I can address them."

Garibaldi did not see that as a likely outcome. But if Delenn really wanted to know, he could at least tell her what he knew. He nodded his assent and began slowly walking again, back to his office. This going to take a while.

"Back during the war, Taggart was a Colonel. He was part of the Earthforce Engineering and Maintenance Division. Mostly tied to warship development and construction. But he had a bit of a reputation as a maverick troubleshooter. Have an engineering problem you couldn't solve? Drop Taggart and his people into the mix, and he'll get results."

"He does not sound like a warrior," put in Lennier. "More like a worker."

"Well…Earthforce doesn't operate on such strict lines like your caste system," explained Garibaldi. "There can be some overlap between military and civic projects. And Taggart was not someone who would stay put behind a desk. He was hands on and willing to put himself in harm's way to get the job done."

"As the war escalated, Earthforce was increasing desperate to find anything to slow your Warrior Caste's advance. And they found an opportunity on Flinn Colony. The planet's magnetosphere was one of the strongest we'd ever found on a habitable planet. Played absolute havoc on most electronic equipment. The colony was filled with a lot of 'back to the basics' types. You know, people who eschewed modern technology. Perfect fit when most of that technology didn't work."

"But with the intense magnetic field protecting the planet, Earthforce figured they had a unique way to strike back. Ground-based weapons could hit your ships, and they would not be able to readily return fire without getting their circuits scrambled. But how to do it? How do you build a weapon system when only the most shielded equipment could operate? Well…You send in Colonel Robert Taggart and the best engineers you've got with a company of Marines to protect them."

"I don't know much about what Taggart built," admitted Garibaldi. "But apparently it worked because your Warrior Caste certainly dropped in a lot of soldiers to stop him."

"That planet was the site of some very intense hand-to-hand combat," said Lennier quietly.

"It was a meat grinder. A lot of good people died there," replied Garibaldi. Trying, and failing, to keep some of the ire out of his voice. He had friends who had been assigned to the marine company protecting the colony. None of them had come back.

Delenn and Lennier traded a pained look. Garibaldi sighed. He was not angry with either Minbari. The war was over. But Delenn had wanted to go down this dark path. Pulling painful memories into the light was unavoidable.

"Anyway," he said, trying to get back on track. "Flinn Colony was overrun. The Marine commander killed. Our forces were thrown into disarray. Taggart, by all rights, should have evacuated off the planet. He and his people weren't trained for ground combat."

"But he stayed," said Delenn.

Garibaldi nodded. "Yes, he did. Taggart might not have been trained for battle, but he sure learned. He was able to rally the surviving marines and colonists. From what I understand the planet was mostly mountains and rough terrain. He took his forces and pulled them into the worst parts. Made the Minbari chase him all over the place. Ran a lot hit and run stuff. Kept your guys off balance. Forced a lot of up close and in your face fights. He probably lost nearly every engagement, but he made sure he bloodied you each time. And he held out for almost five months. Towards the end communication got sketchy, but what little got out sounded like Taggart was fighting through a literal hell."

Now Garibaldi came to what was a bit of a mystery. There had always been plenty of rumors surrounding Taggart's final days on Flinn Colony. None of it had ever been confirmed. The upper brass had always maintained they had been able to push through the Minbari defensive line long enough to extract the man before the everyone was killed. But there were those who claimed Earth's military had not broken through to save anyone. They had come for something else. That the Minbari warriors, tired of the endless fighting on the surface, had employed some type of new weapon to destroy the remaining Humans. And Earthforce had wanted that weapon.

But whatever had happened, Taggart had been returned to the safety of Earth just as the colony fell. The Minbari, as they had done throughout the war, left no survivors. And Taggart himself was barely alive. He had been severely wounded in the final battle and in incredible pain. Clinging to life by only the thinnest of threads.

As Garibaldi revealed what he knew of the end days of Taggart's fight at Flinn Colony, he saw Delenn's eyes widened in horror, and she went ashen as he described the man's crippling injuries.

"In Valen's Name…" she whispered and then her words trailed off in her own language.

Both Garibaldi and Lennier stared at Delenn. She let out a shaky sigh and then the Minbari ambassador took a moment to regain her poise.

"As I said," noted Garibaldi. "Taggart's past is not the best topic to bring up."

Delenn nodded sadly. "Yes, I see that now."

There was a time when Garibaldi considered Ambassador Delenn to have the perfect poker face. Never betraying any emotion she did not want to show. The ever stoic Minbari. But since her metamorphose her mask would slip from time to time. Like it did now. He had to wonder if Delenn's reaction might grant some truth to the rumors of some unknown Minbari weapon. She was indeed disturbed by what he had revealed about the General. But was it purely out of sympathy or for something else?

They had come to a halt in the corridor as Garibaldi had finished out Taggart's campaign on Flinn Colony. The regular traffic of people coming and going had increased as they had approached his office. Too many distractions.

"Let's get in my office," he said. "We can have a little bit of privacy."

"There is more?" questioned Lennier.

"Unfortunately," replied Garibaldi.

Once they were situated in the security station's office, Garibaldi leaned against his desk. Delenn had sat down across from him and had mostly regained her calm demeanor. She waited expectedly for him to continue. He pulled in and let out a deep breath.

"So as I was saying, the colony fell, and Taggart was the only survivor. Then Earthforce tried to build him up. Like what they did with John. They promoted him and showed him off as the hero. But nobody was buying it. You couldn't even claim Flinn Colony was some type of pyrrhic victory. The war went on, and our losses climbed. Plus, some claimed Taggart was a coward for running away as the colony fell. Most people felt that was unfair as he hadn't any choice in the matter. But those accusations still tarnished him."

Lennier appeared as if he was ready with a question, but Garibaldi held up a hand. There was still one more unpleasant detail to get out in the open. He said, "Taggart had a son. Like his father, he was in Earthforce. And he was at the Battle of the Line."

There was not really anything else he needed to say. Garibaldi could only guess at how much rage a man would have after living through the horrors of Flinn Colony, of being maimed and scarred, of being used by your own government as a propaganda puppet, and then to see your son killed defending his home world. Only to have the alien race responsible for all of it all suddenly surrender less than an hour later.

A heavy silence followed. Delenn's eyes were closed. A deep weariness had settled on her small frame. She slumped into her chair. Lennier looked on anxiously, uncertain as to what he should do. Garibaldi figured there was little anyone could do. It was what it was. Finally, Delenn opened her eyes and pulled on some deep reserve of willpower, something she seemed to have a nearly unlimited supply.

"Michael," she said softly, "I'm so sorry to bring this all up. But I needed to know. This is better than me reading it in some dry report. At least now I understand."

The sorrow in her voice was thick, and it was so rare for her to use his first name. A slightly shy smile managed to twist his lips upward. "I don't know about that. Almost everything I know is second-hand information. After the war, most everyone wanted to forget about what happened at the colony. What little celebrity Taggart had, he poured into trying to prevent B5 from going online. It didn't really go anywhere. To be honest, I thought the man retired years ago. But as we see today that certainly wasn't the case."

"Nonetheless, I hear the hurt in your voice. I can only imagine Taggart's pain." Delenn rose out of the chair. "Still," she continued, "I must find a way to ease the situation. Too much is at risk."

Both she and Lennier gently bowed their heads. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Garibaldi."

He watched them leave and then settled back into his chair. His eyes up ran to the ceiling of his office. He stared as if his vision could penetrate through the bulkheads, carbon-steel framework of the station, all the way through until he could see the strange crystal structure of the _Valiant._

"Yeah," said Garibaldi to no one in particular, "this isn't likely to end well."

* * *

**April 22nd, 2260 12:10**

**Babylon 5 Captain's Office**

_"Primary systems are hit. We've got fire on all decks now. There's nothing we can do except…"_ Captain Sandra Hiroshi last words were lost in static.

Major Ryan's heartfelt cry followed. _"Hiroshi? Hiroshi!"_

General Taggart watched as the burning hulk of the _Churchill_ made one last course correction and then rammed into the midsection of the _Roanoke._ The resulting blinding explosion engulfed both ships. Robert paused the video playback of the battle. A moment of silence followed.

Beside him Captain Sheridan cleared his throat and asked, "Did you know her?"

"Only by reputation," replied Robert. "But I did know Captain Tiller of the _Roanoke._ Not a particularly imaginative man…but a decent captain all the same."

"That's what makes this so hard," said Sheridan with a dejected sigh. "We know everyone in one way or another that we kill."

Robert had nothing in response to say. He did not entirely agree with Sheridan's lament. He had made his choices and would live by them. So would Sheridan. As would everyone who had remained loyal to Clark. The conflict which grew out those choices was inevitable. Feeling sorry about it was not going solve anything. But even he would admit watching the unfolding battle was rapidly becoming one of the harder things he had done. And Robert had already seen far too much bloodshed. Reluctantly he started the video playback.

On screen squadrons of Star Furies dived and weaved as the larger capital ships fought. Concentrated fire from both the _Alexander_ and Babylon 5 focused on the _Agrippa._ Cannon fire gouged into the ship's hull. The Omega-class destroyer began to spin out of control. Robert could hear Sheridan's pleas for their surrender, but it was too late.

Glancing over to Babylon 5's commander, Robert saw the man was looking away from the unfolding death of the _Agrippa._ Sheridan was ashamed of what he had done. Robert noted, not for the first time, the unusual uniform Sheridan and his other command staff were wearing. Almost all black with lines of gray forming a triangle of the right side of the jacket. They had jumped from the standard Earthforce uniforms very quickly.

His attention was pulled back to the monitor. The camera focused on the Jumpgate just as a vortex within the gate split open regular space. Three more ships emerged from the murk of hyperspace. Robert felt his hand tighten on his cane. Sheridan and his forces had beaten back the initial attack by the skin of their teeth. How the hell did they handle the next wave?

The answer came moments later as four new jump points opened high above the station. Three all too familiar shapes, plus the new smaller ship – the _Whitestar_ , arrived. Robert could practically feel the dramatic pause as the Earth and Minbari forces stared each other down.

A female voice, cold and calm, came over the general coms channel.

_"This is Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari. Babylon 5 is under our protection. Withdraw… or be destroyed."_

_"Negative,"_ came the voice of the fleet commander. _"We have authority here. Do not force us to engage your ship."_

_"Why not…"_

Robert paused the playback again. He turned to Sheridan and practically growled, "You have got to be kidding me!"

Sheridan's shot right back. "That's what I've been trying to tell you if you'd listen. The Minbari didn't invade us. They saved us."

Reigning his anger back in, Robert took a moment to pause and collecting himself. When the _Valiant_ had arrived here, and he had seen the Minbari ships around the station, all those dark memories from the war came back. As did all the rage. It was a toxic stew, and he knew it. But there was a part of him, even as he rationalized powering up the ship's weapons as a prudent measure against an unknown situation, that wanted to blast them all to hell. Let the pointed head bastards suck vacuum just as Kyle had in his last moments.

Kyle.

Robert had to clamp down on the memories of his son with every bit of will he had. It was the wound, like his leg, that would never truly heal.

He surprised himself by how calmly he asked the next question. "Why?"

Sheridan swiftly answered. "They believe in Babylon 5 and its mission. Delenn has been committed to this place as much as I have. She realized what would happen if the station fell to Clark's forces."

There was more to it, Robert was sure. Sheridan's response was too quick. Too easy. No one, including the ever mysterious Minbari, dropped battlecruisers into a fight for such morally simplistic ideals. But for the moment, he let the subject drop.

"Has it occurred to you, Captain, that you're playing into Clark's hands. You're giving him exactly what he wants."

Sheridan's brow puckered. "What do you mean?"

Robert irritably grumbled, "You have four Minbari warships who drove away the courageous Earthforce sent to retake Babylon 5 from a group of traitorous extremist who had seized control. How the hell do you think propaganda works!? Clark will spin this against us!"

Sheridan jumped out of his chair. Robert had watched him play the diplomat all morning long. It had finally broken down. "Us!? You'll forgive me – sir, but when the hell did you join the team!? I didn't remember you defending the station. Since the moment you got here, you've been threatening everything we've been trying to build. I have my own problem keeping Babylon 5 going. I couldn't care less about what lies Clark wants to tell about this place!"

From his seat, Robert looked up at Sheridan's fuming face and shook his head. The man still did not get it. "It's not that Clark tells lies. It that people want to believe those lies." He exhaled roughly. "As much as it pains me to say it, Clark isn't the problem. Instead, he's a symptom of the problem."

"Which is?" demanded Sheridan.

"Clark has spent more than a year convincing everyone on Earth that the aliens are out to get us. They are brainwashing us. Secretly moving in to control us. Groups like Homeguard, Nightwatch, and the Ministry of Peace popping up. But none of it would have taken root if there wasn't something real for that fear to latch on to."

Sheridan skeptically crossed his arms. "And the source of that fear?"

"You don't get to plow your way right up to Earth's doorstep, threaten our species with total extinction, and then at the last second stop and say, 'Sorry. Our mistake. We surrender.'"

Dropping back in his chair, Sheridan let out a disgusted sigh. "Taggart, you are unbelievable. You talk about paranoia. Fear of the alien and the unknown. But then as soon you can, you pin all the blame on the Minbari." He fixed Robert with a steady gaze. "I know you went through ten types of hell when you were on that colony. That you've got plenty of good reasons to be angry. But you are letting it blind you. The war is over; we need to move on."

There was time, back when he had crawled into the bottle, wrestling in the deepest pits of despair and self-pity that Robert would have broken the jaw of anyone claiming to understand what he had 'gone through.' As if there was some massive equation evaluating one person losses against another's. That pains striking to the very core of your soul could somehow be equalized or measured. But not anymore. Time might not heal all wounds, yet it did give him patience and perspective. Instead, Robert let out a bitter laugh.

"First off, I happen to believe somethings are unforgivable. Flinn Colony taught me that. Never make a mistake about what your new-found friends can do. Second, I do not put all the blame on the Minbari. This is ultimately on us. It is Humanity's problem to solve. We must overcome it. But I don't absolve them either. The Minbari created this wound. And it has only festered over time."

For a long moment, John Sheridan held Robert Taggart's steady gaze. Eventually, the other man turned away. "We are not going to see eye to eye on this, are we?"

Nodding, Robert said, "I believe we've finally found something we both can agree on."

"Fine, you want to blame the Minbari. So be it. But it doesn't solve any of our current problems. Like I said, I've got my hands full keeping the station going. I'm not much in a position to actively take back the Earth."

Robert came to the conclusion he was going to have to decide on how far he was willing to trust John Sheridan. There was more going on here at Babylon 5, he was sure of it. The Captain did not strike him as someone easily led around by his nose. But he could not shake the feeling the Minbari had some type of influence on Sheridan. The old adage – Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies even closer – ran around in his head. Where to put Sheridan?

"Nor am I," said Robert eventually. "Truth is the _Valiant_ is going to need a lot of work to get her fully operational. But, once we do, that substantially changes the equation in our favor."

Sheridan's eyes lit up. He was curious. "How did you find her? Where?"

"It was originally discovered on a survey mission done by the _Eratosthenes._ You know how those Explorer class ships work. They were so far out on the rim, the system wasn't on anyone's maps and just had some number as the name. They didn't know what they had at the time. At first, they thought they had found an enormous comet. Only when they got closer did they realize the 'comet' wasn't made of ice and rock at all. It was a gigantic shroud hiding and protecting the ship."

"And no idea who built it?"

"Some theories, but nothing solid. There were no habitable planets in the system where we found the _Valiant._ Someone brought it there. But why? All that could be determined was the shroud had been in orbit for more than a thousand years."

Robert noted Sheridan's expression when he mentioned the thousand-year-old hiding spot of the _Valiant._ That meant something to him. Interesting. Well, he had played nice and shared a tidbit. Now to see if he could get some details from Sheridan.

"So," began Robert, "That ship, the _Whitestar._ What's its story?"

* * *

**April 22** **nd** **, 2260 15:40**

**Babylon 5 Minbari Ambassador's Private Quarters**

Lennier ran through Delenn's remaining agenda for today. It seemed likely he would need to reschedule most of it for the following day. After their meeting with Mr. Garibaldi, Delenn had a long conversation with Fleet Captain Lennan. He had not been privy to many of the details, but apparently, the two had worked out a plan to give the newly arrived _Valiant_ some distance. But remain watchful. After that Delenn had retired to her bedroom. Several hours later a quick glance at the closed door told him she was still in meditation and did not want to be disturbed.

Mr. Garibaldi's revelations about General Taggart's history were indeed distressing, but Lennier knew Delenn well enough to tell there was more to it. She had been deeply bothered by what she had learned. He was aware that as a Satai she would know many secrets about the war with the Humans. She might know more about General Taggart's past.

He pushed those thoughts aside. If it were important for him to know, Delenn would tell him. Instead, Lennier would remain steadfast at her side. Doing whatever was required of him. It was the least he could do for the one he loved.

A soft chime echoed through the foyer. Someone was at the door. A quick glance at Delenn's itinerary confirmed to Lennier she was not expecting anyone. But it could easily be one of the other ambassadors or one of the station command staff. He would have to let them know Delenn was unavailable.

The outer door slid open to reveal two Humans. One was older, a portly man with fine thinning white hair. The other was a much younger man. Lennier could see his face still carried the signs of only recently reaching adulthood.

"May I help you?" asked Lennier.

The elder Human made an excellent attempt at a traditional Minbari bow. It lacked the subtly of someone who had performed the ritual daily. But it was still very well done. "I am Professor William Stone," he announced with a broad smile. His companion tried to copy the greeting, but he was staring so wide-eyed at Lennier that he nearly stumbled through the bow. "I'm…uhh…Conner Olson…umm…sir."

Lennier bobbed his head in a return welcome. "I am Lennier of the Third Fane of Chudomo, the aide to Ambassador Delenn."

"Perfect," beamed Professor Stone. "You are exactly who I need to speak with. I realize I don't have an appointment or have given any advanced notice, but I would very much like to talk to the Ambassador."

"I am sorry, but the Ambassador is indisposed at the moment." Lennier was about to ask why this professor wanted to meet with Delenn when her voice came from behind him.

"Lennier, who is at the door?"

He turned to find Delenn standing in the doorway to her bedroom, looking curiously at the two newcomers.

From the door, Stone repeated his bow. "Madam Ambassador," he said brightly, "I'm most pleased to meet you. Professor William Stone, I and my assistant Conner are at your service." There was a pause, and then he gave a sidelong glance to his companion. Conner Olson had gone from simply staring wide-eyed at Lennier to openly gaping at Delenn. Stone let out a small sigh and added with a harrumph, "Close your mouth boy, you're creating a draft."

Turning red in the face, Connor shut his mouth with an audible snap. Stone gave an amused shake of his head. "Perhaps, Connor," he said dryly, "you can run a few errands for me. You can visit that Zocalo everyone seems to be going on about."

"But…umm…Professor, the General said…"

Another sigh escaped Stone. "Yes, I'm aware of what he said. But Robert has been running around with his head up his ass. So, we're going to ignore what he said. Understood?"

"Ah…okay," slowly answered Connor. He was still staring in amazement at Lennier and Delenn.

Stone pulled a small data pad from his back pocket and handed it to his assistant. "That's a list of everything I'll need and a credit line to get it purchased."

Connor took the offered pad, but then just stood in the doorway's threshold, apparently uncertain as what to do next. He attempted the bow again, failed miserably, and then eventually settled on a small wave to the Minbari. "Bye," he said and practically ran down the corridor.

"Poor boy," said the Professor wistfully, "I believe I've over stimulated him."

Delenn and Lennier, who had watched this odd exchange with puzzled bafflement, stared at Professor William Stone and the rapidly retreating backside of Connor Olson. Delenn was the first to finally speak. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

The sunny smile quickly reappeared on Stone's face. "I have many titles. But the one that holds the most relevance is I'm the _Valiant_ 's science officer." He excitedly clapped his hands together at the sight of Delenn's stunned expression. "I believe we have much to talk about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taggart's back story on Flinn Colony is made up, but I'm hoping it fits with established canon. There is very little information on what exactly happened there during the war. Only that ground-based weapons forced the Minbari to land troops and massive hand-to-hand combat took place. It stood to reason there was something different on that planet than the others. A geomagnetic field that disrupted most technology made a good fit. It explains why the Minbari had to send troops down and why the fighting was largely hand to hand.


End file.
